


Off His Game

by Sadaralo



Category: Perry Mason (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-21
Updated: 2015-03-15
Packaged: 2018-02-18 07:12:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 32,810
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2339690
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sadaralo/pseuds/Sadaralo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Paul Drake sets his sights on an attractive female, but she's the daughter of someone he knows.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

The noon recess from the courtroom found legendary defense attorney, Perry Mason out to lunch with his trusted secretary, Della Street, and longtime friend and private detective, Paul Drake.  It seemed like the three of them almost never ate in the privacy of their own homes anymore given the long hours they put in at the office.  Not for the first time did Mason wonder how those in similar professions managed time with families.

 

They’d been tossing thoughts and ideas back and forth about the current case while they waited for their food to arrive at their booth, but Drake had been distracted by someone of the female persuasion up at the bar for the last few minutes pulling knowing smiles from Mason and Della. Drake loved women and he was lousy at hiding the once overs he often gave them.

 

The young blonde that had caught Drake’s eye was someone that Mason and Della had met before, but Drake had not; and Mason wasn’t sure if he should drop the bomb on Paul or let the skilled detective ferret out her identify on his own. One thing was certain… Mason wanted to be there when Drake figured it out.

 

The pretty woman had her nose in a textbook as she sipped a rum and coke. Her shoulder length, sandy blonde hair was pulled back in a simple pony tail.  It honestly surprised Mason that Drake couldn’t see the resemblance to someone they knew, but that added to the fun, he thought.

 

After years of friendship, Mason knew that deep down, a part of Drake wished he’d find “the one.” Looking and dating was fun, but the handsome detective sometimes mentioned he found himself longing for a steady relationship or marriage.  He’d thought he’d definitely have been through playing the field by now.  But his job demanded long hours just like Mason’s did and that made serious relationships difficult to maintain.  Women tended to prefer more of their man’s attention on her than his job.

 

“Why don’t you go over there and introduce yourself, Paul?” Mason suggested with amusement.  Sometimes Mason just couldn’t help but mess with people, friends included.

 

That tore Paul’s attention away from the woman and his head whipped around to face Mason and Della again, his face turning red as he realized he hadn’t been paying attention to business like he should have been.

 

“Aww, I’m sorry, Perry. I’m paying attention.  Go ahead.”

 

“It’s alright, Paul. Seriously though, go on before the food gets here and we have to get back in the courtroom.”

 

Della shook her head and smiled in that knowing way she had when that huge, boyish grin of enthusiasm split Drake’s face. He slid out of the booth and bounded up to the bar energetically, confidently introducing himself to the woman he’d been spying just moments before.

 

“Why didn’t you tell Paul who she is?” Della smirked.

 

Mason’s own smirk broadened and his bright, blue eyes twinkled with mischief. “He’s an experienced detective, Della.  He’ll figure it out soon enough.”

 

W^^^W^^^W

 

Paul returned to the table shortly after his acute senses and growling stomach alerted him that their food had made its way to their table. If there was one thing that Paul loved as much as women, it was food.

 

“So how did it go?” Della asked, dying to hear and having difficulty hiding the knowing amusement in her voice. Paul looked upbeat still so the conversation must have gone well.

 

“I’m meeting her for a drink at Marchand’s after court so now 11th hour errands today, Perry.  I was hoping we could meet for dinner, but apparently she already has plans with her parents and siblings.”

 

“Well, at least you can get meeting her parents out of the way early.”

 

Mason grinned at the mischief dancing merrily in Della’s luminous hazel eyes.

 

Paul stopped and looked at them curiously after popping the first bite of his pork chop into his mouth. “What?”

 

“Nothing, Paul. Just anxious to hear how it all goes.  Now let’s eat so we can get back to round two in the courtroom.  I’m sure Burger is in for a few surprises…”

 

W^^^W^^^W

 

With the latest murder case wrapped up at the preliminary hearing instead of going to trial, Mason looked over to find that Paul had vanished out the courtroom, practically leaving a trail of smoke behind him.

 

“So shall we have dinner at Marchand’s tonight?” Della suggested innocently.

 

“Added mind reading to your list of talents?” Mason smiled at her fondly.  He glanced over at Burger and Tragg, who were gathering their things and preparing to call it a day, and chuckled.  Though the workday had come to a close, the day wasn’t over yet.

 

W^^^W^^^W

 

Mason and Della slipped into a booth at Marchand’s just in time to catch Paul Drake eagerly engaged in a conversation with the young woman he’d made plans with earlier that day. The same boyish grin graced his face just as it had earlier.  Mason and Della couldn’t hear the conversation, though eavesdropping would have been rude and that wasn’t what they were going for.  So far Paul hadn’t noticed them.  He only had eyes for the woman he was chatting up.  She’d shown up sans the law text she’d had at lunch and was sipping on another rum and coke before dinner.

 

“Well Helen, I know your family is due here soon,” Paul said with a tinge of disappointment, but his smile hadn’t faded. The conversation had been going well and he was sure he wanted to see her again.  “Would you let me take you to dinner later this week?”

 

Giving him a genuine smile, Helen nodded. “I’d love that,” she said, as she checked the entrance to see if her parents had arrived yet.

 

Paul noticed the district attorney enter just as his date turned back to him. “My boss’ illustrious courtroom opponent just arrived.  I wonder who he’s looking for?”

 

“Oh, dad’s here then!”

 

That made Helen whirl around to face the entrance again and she enthusiastically waved Hamilton Burger over.

 

Paul froze in horror and his blood ran cold. He could only imagine the fate the district attorney would have in store for him once he found out he was trying to date his daughter.  “Hamilton Burger is your *father*!”

 

Helen’s eyebrows knitted together in confusion and the resemblance hit Paul full force in the gut. He inhaled sharply, unable to believe he hadn’t seen it before.  Her facial expressions, her coloring, her features… he could see it all now.

 

“Yes,” she nodded, still sounding perplexed.

 

“Well… some detective I am…,” Paul groused dejectedly, though he brightened at Helen’s cheerful laugh. He couldn’t help but laugh with her because it was pretty funny and ridiculous.

 

Burger weaved through the tables, approaching the bar and the same expression of confusion that just graced Helen’s face, appeared on the district attorney’s chiseled features.

 

“Helen, sweetheart…,” he said, pretty sure he was seeing what he thought he was and unsure how to feel about it. “Paul.  Fancy meeting you here.  Something going on I should know about?”  He glanced down at his daughter with a question in his large, blue eyes.

 

Paul swallowed hard, a sheepish look on his handsome face. He’d braced himself to meet her parents since that was the way things just shook out with Helen’s schedule, but nothing could have prepared him for who her father was and he was lost about how to handle it.

 

“I asked her out earlier today, Hamilton.  I had no idea she was your daughter.”

 

Helen just grinned up at her father, amused at how the whole situation was unfolding. Helen often liked to just roll with the punches and tended to find the positive in anything.  It was a trait that Burger admired in here and he let out a deep breath, trying to rein in the natural paternal impulses to protect her.

 

“Well, she’s a grown woman. If it’s what she wants, then I won’t intrude, but if you hurt her, Drake, so help me I’ll…”

 

Paul raised a hand. “You don’t have to say anymore.  I completely understand and can’t blame you in the least.”

 

That seemed to satisfy Burger for the time being, but he frowned as he caught something or someone out of the corner of his eye. “Well, I’ll be damned… Mason is here too.”

 

“And I should go join them since your family is meeting for dinner. I’ll see you later this week, Helen.  Have a good evening.”  Grabbing his drink, Paul touched her shoulder gently and nodded respectfully to Burger before wandering over to Mason and Della’s table.

 

Sliding into the booth as Mason made room for him, Paul fixed Mason with a withering look. “You enjoyed that, didn’t you?”

 

“I might have,” Mason smirked. “Though I did think you’d figure it out before Burger found out.”

 

“Thanks, Perry. You’re a big help.”

 

Paul shook his head and grinned anyway. He still had a date later that week so in the end, he was still getting the last laugh.


	2. Starting Over

“Dad… are you sure you don’t want me to stay with you?” Helen pleaded for what seemed like the hundredth time that afternoon.

 

She hurried into the living room where her father and district attorney, Hamilton Burger was parked comfortably on her couch, looking over case notes. Her black dress swished quietly as she walked.  Part of her felt guilty for devoutly wishing he’d say no.  She and Paul Drake had been an item for nearly a year now and he’d hinted at a surprise that she had no wish to cancel on.  Still, her parents’ marital issues concerned her deeply.  Helen had always been a daddy’s girl so she was especially concerned about her father, even though at the moment he was giving no outward signs that he was anything but the man who had raised her and spoiled her rotten from day one.

 

“Sweetheart,” Burger said with the gentle patience only his four daughters seemed to enjoy. “I already said I’m fine.  Don’t worry about me.  Go have a wonderful time tonight.”

 

Helen smiled happily as she pushed her hair back and put a pair of dangly earrings on. For Hamilton Burger watching his daughter at that moment felt like being transported back in time 25 years to when he and his wife, Alexandra were young.  He could definitely see a bit of himself in his oldest daughter’s features, but her brilliant smile was all Alexandra. 

 

His heart squeezed with emotion at how radiant and in love Helen looked. It was a glow he’d seen in Alexandra at one time.  He wanted to see his wife look at him again in the way that Helen looked at Paul, but he wasn’t sure how to make that happen, even after a week of camping out on his daughter’s couch.  He’d thought of staying in a nice room somewhere, but Helen wouldn’t hear of it.  Burger honestly couldn’t say he minded.  It gave him an opportunity to talk shop with his daughter who was a newly minted attorney herself.

 

“I talked to mom this morning,” Helen began. She sounded unsure of whether or not to bring the subject up, but gathered her courage when her father looked up from his notes, his expression curious and almost hopeful.

 

“And?”

 

“And she says she misses you and wishes you’d come home,” Helen finished. “Dad, I know this isn’t what you were planning on.  Mom was just as shocked as you were.  You know she wouldn’t do this to you on purpose.  And we’ll all be there for you if you need help.”

 

“I know, Helen. Believe me, I know.  I just need time for it to all sink in.  Get used to the idea again.”

 

Helen sighed. “Dad, mom is afraid you’ll never come back home.  She’s making herself sick over it.  That’s not good for her right now, you know that!  Please don’t be stubborn about this.”

 

Burger hesitated a moment, not sure what to say to his pleading, increasingly emotional offspring.

 

“Please dad?” She smiled her best, most endearing smile, knowing it would probably work as it had so many times before.  “For me?”

 

“Alright, sweetheart. For you.  I’ll go talk to her while you’re out with Paul.  How does that sound?”

 

That angelic smile again.

 

W^^^W^^^W

 

The silence in the car was deafening as far as private detective Paul Drake was concerned and it worried him. As far as he knew nothing was amiss between him and Helen.

 

“You’re awfully quiet tonight, Helen. Is something wrong?”

 

She chuckled in that self deprecating way she had. “It’s not us, Paul, if that’s what you’re worried about.  It’s my parents.  Dad has been crashing on my couch for a week now.  I’ve been trying to get him to go talk to mom.  He finally agreed to while you and I are out, but we’ll see.”

 

“Well, I don’t know from experience yet, but it seems most marriages have rough patches. I’m sure they’ll work it out somehow.  Don’t let it get you down.”

 

Paul fought the urge to look over at her. He had to concentrate on driving.  If he got into an accident with her in the car, Burger would be looking for him instead of his wife.

 

Helen chuckled again. Paul liked to play things down when Helen seemed upset.  It was his way of trying to cheer her up.  She supposed she could get overly worked up about things, which reminded Paul of Hamilton.  He also thoroughly enjoyed teasing her about that.

 

“It’s a little more complicated than that Paul. Mom found out she’s pregnant.”

 

“Pregnant?!” Paul’s head jerked toward his girlfriend.  “Are you kidding me?!”

 

“I’m not. She told us last week.  Considering all four of their kids are grown or almost grown, it came as a big shock to both of them.  Mom isn’t *that* old, her early forties, but still old enough that dad freaked out about her health and her doctor was concerned that there could be problems…  And then dad had a meltdown about having a new baby in the house at the same time he was putting three kids through college…”

 

Paul shook his head in disbelief. “And he was talking about retirement after your little sister graduated from college…  I guess that’s out the window for a while longer.”

 

“Something else he wasn’t thrilled about. So… yeah… dad isn’t adjusting to the idea of starting over with a new baby very well and mom is worried it’s going to ruin their marriage.”

 

Pulling into the parking lot of the fancy restaurant that counted among Paul’s favorites, he turned off the engine and glanced over Helen with concern.

 

“I wish I knew how to help, babe, but I’m afraid I don’t have much experience with these types of things.”

 

Helen smiled at him and took his hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. “I know.  Just being with you helps.  They’ll figure it out.  I’m sure they will.  Dad isn’t the quitting type so he’ll go back home when he’s worked it out in his head.”

 

At least she hoped he would. She on the other hand was excited to have another little brother or sister.  It pained her that her dad didn’t feel that way about it.


	3. Ups and Downs

The familiar knock heralded the arrival of Paul Drake. Della barely had the door open before Paul bounded in bursting full of energy.  The characteristic boyish smile threatened to split his face.

 

“And he hasn’t even had coffee yet,” Della joked to Mason, setting about fixing her boss a second mug. “So Paul… care to tell us what has you over the moon this early in the morning?”

 

Paul bounced up and down a few times, so excited he looked about ready to blast off. “I asked Helen to marry me last night and I got the answer I was hoping for.”

 

That earned him a delighted squeal and congratulatory hug from Della and a look of amusement and surprise from Mason.

 

“Congratulations, Paul. Though I have to say I’m surprised.  I hadn’t pegged you for the settling down type.”

 

“Me either, Perry, but I have to say this time, it was more fun getting caught than doing the chasing.”

 

Paul finally settled down enough to drop himself into the chair next to Mason’s desk, his expression turning serious all of a sudden and he lit up a cigarette.

 

“There’s trouble in paradise though. Not between me and Helen, but her parents are going through a rough patch.  I found Hamilton camped out on Helen’s couch when I picked her up last night.  He’s been there for a week, she said.”

 

Mason frowned. In the times that he’d had the opportunity to speak with the district attorney on a more personal note, Burger had always spoken very highly and lovingly of his wife.  He was very sorry to hear that things might be headed downhill in his courtroom adversary’s personal life.  And judging by the expression on his detective’s face, Paul wasn’t celebrating the fact either.  That made sense though.  Paul was about to join that family and what hurt Helen would hurt Paul.

 

“I wonder what could be wrong,” Mason muttered, almost to himself. He was lost in thought, ransacking his memory for anything he’d seen or heard from Burger that signaled trouble on the horizon.  He couldn’t come up with anything.

 

Paul looked torn between what he felt was right and saving Mason from hiring Paul to find out.

 

“You didn’t this from me, but Helen said that her mother is unexpectedly pregnant. Apparently, Hamilton isn’t adjusting to the idea too well.”

 

A soft gasp escaped Della. “I thought he loved children.  He has four.  Why would he not want a baby?”

 

“Well, I can think of a few reasons. For one, the ones he has are grown and in college.  Essentially he’s starting over again as a father and he’s not exactly a spring chicken anymore.  I can understand that he doesn’t feel he has the energy to start all over again.  Two, he had mentioned retiring not long after his youngest graduates.  Another kid to raise may change that game plan entirely.”

 

“And they married very young, if I recall…,” Mason said quietly. “In fact, he said once that Alexandra’s first pregnancy moved their wedding plans up considerably. Hamilton had wanted to wait until they were out of school.”

 

“So Hamilton is super straight laced about everything but sex, is that it?”

 

Paul took the last drag off his cigarette and then put it out in the ash tray conveniently located on Mason’s desk. Paul felt torn.  On one hand, he completely sympathized with Burger, but at the same time, he didn’t think Burger was handling it as well as he could be.  Paul could only imagine how abandoned and alone Alexandra must feel right now, pregnant with an unexpected baby that apparently had chased its father off.

 

“I get what the man is going through, even if I’ve never lived through it, but I still feel like he could be handling it better. It’s not like him to just pick up and run from something.  He’s never done it in the courtroom.”

 

Paul and Mason just regarded each other in silence for a long moment, both pondering the situation from their own unique perspectives.

 

“Scared me too,” Paul continued after a few moments. “Here I was with this big plan to propose and I pick Helen up to find out her folks are having issues.  I was terrified that Helen seeing her parents going through that would make her skittish about marriage.  Fortunately, it didn’t, but now I need to find a way to support her and maybe help her parents patch things up.  Patching up marriages isn’t exactly in my job description.”

 

Despite the gravity of the situation, gravity still couldn’t do anything about the ever present smirk on Mason’s handsome face. “Well, at least Hamilton was too distracted to argue with you when you asked for Helen’s hand in marriage.”

 

“Now isn’t that the truth!” Paul said. “You always manage to find the upside, Perry.  I’ll have to unload on you more often.”

 

“I already have a job, Paul. And if I remember correctly, your future mother in law is the psychologist.  Perhaps you should ask her what she’d recommend to her clients in a similar situation.”

 

A withering look was all Paul could spare for Mason at that moment for being a smartass. How could he help Hamilton see the upside to having another baby?  There had to be something Paul could say that would move the district attorney back in the direction of his own home.  But what?  He resolved to find out.


	4. Straight Between the Eyes

Paul found himself stuck between a rock and a hard place. He wanted to help Hamilton and Alexandra if he could.  The rift between them was taking its toll on Helen and that was tearing Paul up.  Alexandra had never seen her parents even more than mildly annoyed with each other.  If anything more serious had ever gone down, Hamilton and Alexandra had kept it under their daughters’ radar and under wraps.

 

But… sometimes when Paul tried to help with something he accidentally made things worse. He wondered if this would be one of those times when helping wasn’t actually helping.  And was it even any of his business?  Sure, he’d known Hamilton for years.  He’d watched him lock horns with Perry Mason in the courtroom weekly and sometimes they’d all grab lunch or dinner together afterwards.  But he and Helen weren’t married yet.

 

All of a sudden a nightmarish thought jolted Paul out of his thoughts. He cursed himself for his relative lack of experience in long term relationships or else this hellish thought might have occurred to him sooner.  Women sometimes did desperate things in the face of an unplanned pregnancy; things that could cost them their lives.  And Paul was willing to bet his bottom dollar that Hamilton, too busy trying to sort out his own feelings, hadn’t thought of either. 

 

Helen had mentioned speaking with her mother over the phone a few days ago, but a lot could happen in a few days. Paul certainly didn’t want to scare Helen unnecessarily so he decided to pay Alexandra a visit on his own just to make sure she was okay.  He and Perry had an unlucky penchant for ambling into situations they didn’t expect though.

 

W^^^W^^^W

 

Paul had found Alexandra alive and well. Well could be a relative term in this case though as Alexandra answered the front door looking exhausted and white as a sheet.  She was dressed for a lazy day in a light tank top and loose fitting shorts.  She looked ready to for a jog or play tennis or something, but Paul could tell it was just comfortable clothing for the under the weather way she felt.  Her shoulder length brown hair was pulled back into a low ponytail.

 

She smiled weakly and gestured for Paul to come in.

 

“You look like you don’t feel well so I won’t be long,” Paul said, feeling a bit embarrassed that he’d bothered her when she obviously felt terrible. “I just wanted to check on you and ask if there was anything I could do to help.”

 

“That’s very sweet of you, Paul. I knew Helen had chosen well.  I’m fine.  Just a little morning sickness.  Well, a lot of morning sickness.  The last time I’d endured it was almost 20 years ago so I’d almost forgotten how much I didn’t miss it.”

 

Alexandra chuckled and wandered into the kitchen to pour them both some hot tea. Paul waited in the living room, noticing how quiet and empty the spacious house felt at the moment.  He wasn’t sure if it was the situation, knowing that Hamilton had been at Helen’s for the last week, or if it was because he’d rarely been here when there wasn’t a houseful of people and never without Helen.  The Burgers had four daughters and the younger three were still in college and still living at home.  It was the middle of the day and they were away at school.

 

Returning to the living room, Alexandra gently handed Paul a cup of tea and then took a sip of hers as she lowered herself onto the couch.

 

“I took a few weeks off of work,” she continued. “My friend, Ruby volunteered to take my clients so I could rest and get this sorted out with Hamilton.  If I can get it sorted out with Hamilton.  It’s almost embarrassing.  Here I am, a licensed counselor, and I can’t get my own husband whom I’ve known for a quarter of a century, to come home and talk to me.  That’s part of my job, getting people to talk.”

 

Alexandra’s head feel back and she sighed, staring up at the ceiling. “I’m lost. Hamilton has never done anything like this before.  It makes me wonder if there were problems he wasn’t telling me about even before this baby showed up on the horizon.  I talked to Helen the other night and I’m really worried about her.  She seems to be just as stressed about all this as me and Hamilton.”

 

Finishing his tea, Paul gently set the cup on the coffee table separating him and his future mother in law. “Well, I’m planning on visiting Helen tonight so I’ll be able to check on Hamilton.  Perhaps I can talk to him, man to man, and see if I can help him get himself straightened out because I hate seeing what this is doing to you all, especially Helen.”

 

Lifting her head to make eye contact with Paul again, a small, but genuine smile of appreciation tugged at Alexandra’s full lips. “Thanks, Paul.  I’d appreciate that because I don’t know what I’m going to do if Hamilton doesn’t come home.  That really scares me.”

 

As Paul made his way back to his car, he had an idea. He just wasn’t sure if it was going too far, but Hamilton could use a good scare to make him realize just how much he had to lose.  It was mean and perhaps uncalled for, but Paul couldn’t see another way to reach Hamilton Burger except straight between the eyes.

 

W^^^W^^^W

 

The three of them had just finished eating supper and Helen was bustling away in the kitchen doing the dishes while Paul and Burger retreated to the living room with coffee mugs in their hands. Paul let out a deep breath, hoping his little plan didn’t backfire on him spectacularly.  He’d warned Helen about it, that way if it did backfire it wouldn’t cost him his relationship.  Helen had found the plan a little brutal, but lacking any better ideas, she’d reluctantly agreed to let Paul push on with it.

 

“Hamilton,” Paul began as he perched himself on edge of his chair.  “I’m not trying to be a jerk or butt in where I don’t belong, but I can’t keep watching what this is doing to Helen.  You’ve got to go patch things up with Alexandra… *before* she does something rash or dangerous.”

 

That earned him a perplexed look from Burger. A perplexed look that turned to concern.  A look of foreboding widened his eyes and they took on a faraway look.  His mind and heart really didn’t want to go there.

 

“Women sometimes do desperate things in these situations, Hamilton.  You know that as well as I do.”

 

“But Alexandra thinks everything through. She’d never do something that foolish,” Burger said weakly, desperately trying to dismiss the possibility that his wife would ever resort to something as horrifying and last gasp as a back alley abortion.

 

“She’s never had to face losing her husband and watch her family broken up by an unplanned baby either. Can you be so sure?  What if she does in a bid to get you back?  What if it kills her?  Are you prepared to lose your wife over this, Hamilton?”

 

Burger stared at Paul in silent horror for a long moment before wordlessly grabbing his hat and bolting out the door with his car keys.

 

Paul sighed in relief.


	5. Chapter 5

Hamilton Burger bolted through the front door of the house he hadn’t seen in nearly two weeks. He had no idea what he’d find when he got here and he hadn’t thought he could get here fast enough. Paul had scared the daylights out the prosecutor and rightfully so as far as Burger was concerned, even though Burger was still angry at his future son in law for doing so. Burger had been so used to calm, cool, and collected Alexandra for the last quarter century that he hadn’t imagined her reacting to this situation any differently. But Paul was absolutely right. Alexandra had never experienced this sort of uncertainty in her marriage.

He’d needed time to sort out his feelings about the situation and selfishly he’d taken it, regardless of its impact on his wife. He’d never been this selfish before. Was this the notorious midlife crisis come to visit him? It sickened him looking back at the last two weeks. He’d added unimaginable stress to her life at a time when she was already coping with the effects of the pregnancy. It had been so long since their last child had been born that he’d forgotten how sick she’d been in the first trimesters. The morning sickness had been so bad the last time that Alexandra had felt unable to give her clients the time and attention they deserved and had taken leave from work until she felt better. Ruby had taken on her clients in that time. Now that Alexandra was over 40, Burger couldn’t help but wonder if it was even worse this time.

“Alexandra?!”

Silence echoed back at him. Her car was in the driveway so it was possible that she was asleep in their bedroom or out and about with one of their younger daughters. He couldn’t deny that he felt dread settle in his belly like a lead weight as he entered the dining room. He wanted to set the rather elaborate bouquet of stargazer lilies down on the table. Stargazer lilies were her favorite and never failed to bring a delighted smile to her face, something Burger hoped to see very soon. He had to make things right for his family again.

Uncharacteristically, there were papers fanned out on the dining room table close to where Burger had set the flowers down. His wife rarely left anything out, especially in the dining and living rooms. Perhaps she’d been interrupted. Curious, he looked them over. He didn’t feel guilty for peaking at all. Marriage was a partnership and he felt he needed and had a right to know what was going on at home. Guilt did prick his conscience once again about having been absent for two weeks, otherwise he’d probably know the answers to his questions already.

Studying the information, Burger felt his heart began to slam against his chest. She was considering adopting their baby out. He didn’t know if it was because she thought it would make him happy, if she really wanted to do it, or if she thought she couldn’t make it as a single mother if he didn’t come back.

“Oh Alex, that wasn’t necessary…,” he mumbled to the empty house. “If only I’d been here to tell her that,” the self recrimination in his voice evident even though no one was there to hear it.  
“Hamilton?”

Startled, Burger’s head snapped up, wondering how anyone had managed to sneak up on him like that, but then he remembered he had flown through the door in such a hurry, he’d forgotten to shut it behind him when he’d entered the house.

“Alex,” he breathed in relief, pulling her to him in a fierce hug. “I’m so sorry, Alex. I’ve been a jerk about this. I know I don’t deserve it, but please forgive me. I promise I’m not going anywhere this time.”

“You’d better not,” she teased. Looking over his shoulder, she spied the gorgeous bouquet of lilies. “Are those for me?”

“You know they are, sweetheart.”

“They’re beautiful. Apology accepted.”

Releasing her finally, Burger studied her for a moment. “Have you eaten?”

“I ate a little earlier. Ella has been making sure of it. She just dropped me off from my doctor’s appointment and then vanished again to go meet some friends at the movie. If you’re asking if I feel well enough to go out… perhaps for coffee or dessert then?”

W^^^W^^^W

Burger was relieved to see that his wife still felt well enough to go out. She had mentioned during the drive over to the local coffee shop that the morning sickness had been kind of squirrely this time around; sometimes she felt great, other days she felt terrible and there was no predicting from day to day which it would be.

They were discussing what went on with her doctor’s appointment when Burger’s attention shifted and he leaned over to confirm he was actually seeing what he thought he was seeing.

“What?” Alexandra peered at him in confusion. She didn’t turn to see who or what had caught his eye though as she hated being caught staring at someone. She’d just have to wait until Hamilton satisfied her curiosity.

“Perry and Della are over in the corner booth. Canoodling. I had a feeling the two of them had the hots for each other, but I never expected that they’d finally get their act together and admit it. I should go warn them that’s the fast track to ending up in our situation.”

He glanced over at Alexandra, a rueful chuckle escaping him, and then he stopped and smiled at her, curious about the sudden smirk playing at the corners of her carefully painted pink lips.  
“What?”

“I was just thinking that might not be so bad. It would give our new little one someone to play and fight with since its sisters will be so much older.”

Burger snorted. “That’s all we need, our kid infected with Perry’s courtroom pyrotechnics.”

Alexandra shrugged, that maddening, enigmatic smile still lighting up her still lovely face. She had a way of seeing the possibilities that Burger didn’t. He supposed that was what made her the counselor she was. She understood people in a way his more cynical nature didn’t. Perhaps that was why he was let off the hook so easily for the last two weeks.

Still, he’d give his left arm to know what she was thinking about this new development with Mason and Della.

W^^^W^^^W

“So I was thinking…,” Helen began as she brewed up some coffee. They had just returned from a romantic dinner out and dancing. “that we could wait until mom has the baby and recovers a little bit before we get married? How do you feel about that?”

“Well, I’m not getting any younger. I’d like to have children of my own before I’m an old man,” Paul pouted. “But I can understand that you want your mom to be comfortable and to have your little brother or sister in the pictures so if it’s what you want, it’s what I want.”

Helen smiled gratefully and whisked into the bedroom to change clothes. Paul decided to go outside for a smoke while he waited for the coffee to be done and his fiancé to re-emerge.

It was nearing the end of summer and the night air was still warm, but the breeze was cooler than it had been since spring. Autumn was definitely approaching. Perhaps a September or October wedding the following year would suit Helen’s time frame, Paul thought. Her little brother or sister would be about six months old at that time and her mother should be back in the swing of things. Jealousy of Burger wormed its way through Paul. Paul was eager to be a father himself, but that appeared to be at least a few years out still as long as Helen was setting the pace. Paul firmly reminded himself that serious relationships required patience and compromise. He wished he understood why he had patience being a detective, but not nearly so much in relationships.

Finishing his cigarette, Paul put it out in the little ash tray that Helen set out for him. She refused to let him smoke in her apartment and was encouraging him to quit, particularly before they began having children. He wasn’t so certain quitting was in his future, but he promised her he would smoke outside and not around their children. That didn’t thrill his young fiancé as much as quitting would have, but it seemed to be a satisfactory compromise for the time being.

Realizing that it had been several minutes, Paul went back into the apartment and noticed that Helen wasn’t in the living room or kitchen. Puzzled, he wandered into her bedroom to find her stretched out on her side on the bed, decked out in some new lingerie. Her shoulder length hair caressed her shoulders in thick, blonde curls and her full, red lips curved upwards in a suggestive smirk as she beckoned to him. Candlelight flickered about the room and the window curtains fluttered in the soft breeze.

Mesmerized by the sight, Paul was only vaguely aware of the fact that his body was obeying her. He was certain she was going to wait until the wedding night. It wasn’t because he thought she’d been raised that way. He wasn’t sure why he thought that actually. He supposed it was because of the high regard she held her father in and she’d worry about what he’d think. Paul was surprised to find that he was wrong. The playful, spontaneous side of Helen Rose Burger had snuck up on him again. Well, it probably had more to do with the fact that her father had returned to his own home and now they were alone in her apartment.

He shrugged out of his jacket and let it fall to the floor as Helen tugged at his tie, gently pulling his face to hers. Their lips met and the kiss deepened passionately as Paul joined his wife to be on the bed. This kisses became more heated and frantic as they hurriedly tugged at each other’s clothing. Then Paul remembered patience and how the young still had to learn it.

“Helen,” he whispered breathlessly. “We have all night. Let’s not rush this.” 

Paul wasn’t exactly sure why tonight felt like it had to be perfect, but it did and he was determined that they’d both savor each moment and enjoy each other to the fullest.


	6. Chapter 6

The next morning Paul joined Mason and Della for coffee before heading up to Perry’s office to discuss the day’s tasks. There was no denying that the air about the defense attorney and his secretary was different. They couldn’t seem to stop glancing at each other and the glimmers in their eyes definitely signaled that something had changed.

“Would you two like to be alone?” Paul finally asked with a teasing smirk.

Mason and Della both had the good sense to look chagrined at being caught, but Mason recovered quickly with his own customary smug smirk. “No Paul, but we’ll let you know when.”

Paul gave him a withering look. “Uh huh. But I’ve gotta say, it’s about time. Fortunately, no one was taking bets though.”

“About time?” Mason asked innocently. “Taking bets, huh? I didn’t realize Della and I had been that obvious.”

“Well, I *am* a detective, Perry.”

W^^^W^^^W

It wasn’t unusual for Perry Mason to run into Burger or Tragg and their families out and about during or after the work day. As lawyers and detectives, they all brought in enough green to be able to run around in the same circles and establishments. The fact that they had offices in roughly the same area and presented their cases in the same building had encouraged the frequenting of nearby restaurants and other establishments. Marchand’s was popular among the two lawyers. It was close to their offices and served as the perfect interruption between the regular work hours and those extra hours that were often required. So it didn’t surprise Mason and Della to find Burger and his wife enjoying a quiet evening out, this time sans their four daughters who had been with them in this same fancy restaurant about a month previous. The sounds of dishes clinking and quiet conversation permeated the air around them

Mason had to admit it was difficult to pry his keen blue eyes off of the couple as Burger caressed Alexandra’s shoulders and got her chair for her. They shared a quick, tender kiss before Burger took the seat across from her. So used to seeing the gruff, sarcastic version of the district attorney in the courtroom that the softer, tender expressions Burger saved for his wife made Mason wonder if he was seeing a different man entirely. It was obvious watching the couple hold hands across the table and the way their faces lit up around each other that they were still very much in love with each other. It was a rare thing to see in a couple who had been together for so many years. 

Idly, Mason wondered if that could be him and Della in a few more decades. 

“They do make it look effortless, don’t they?” Della’s voice held amusement and a wee bit of wistfulness as she noticed who her man was watching.

“It wasn’t effortless a few weeks ago,” Mason reminded her.

Della shook her head. “I don’t think their marriage was ever in any real danger of ending. Hamilton is so obviously taken with her still that I don’t think she’ll ever have to worry about losing him. Four daughters though… Can you imagine being outnumbered by all those women. No wonder he’s so grumpy.”

That made Mason chuckle quietly as he took the final sip of his coffee. The check had arrived at the table a few moments prior and Mason took care of it, leaving a generous tip. “Question is… how did a guy like him get a gorgeous woman like Alexandra?”

“Maybe she’s never seen him in the courtroom,” she smirked. “If he has always treated her like he’s doing now, I don’t wonder why she fell for him.”

Della was fervently glad that the couple was so smitten with each other that they hadn’t noticed Burger’s courtroom opponent nearby. Mason was still staring. He wanted what Burger had; a warm, happy family life to go home to after the long hours in the office. It was just that though that stopped him. He rarely had such time to devote to a family. He’d asked Burger about that once after they’d bumped into each other in the local coffee shop. Burger had said that if it was important to a man, he’d find a way to make the time.

With a monumental effort, Mason tore his eyes away from Burger and his wife and gave Della a serious, solemn look. They hadn’t been dating long, but they knew each other like the backs of their hands and had worked together so long that Della could usually tell what Mason needed or wanted before he even did. And along with that had always been the simmering physical and emotional attraction that they just recently acted upon. Perhaps Burger was right. Perhaps Mason could have his cake and eat it too. Fortunately, it was Friday night.

“Della?”

“Yes, Perry?” Della responded curiously.

“How would you feel about eloping tonight?”

That took Della’s breath away and her lovely hazel eyes widened in delighted surprise. She hadn’t expected Mason to take the plunge so soon, but it was apparent that Burger’s happy marriage had made an impact on the workaholic defense attorney.

Mason smiled with a patient, but expectant and hopeful glimmer in his eyes.

“Oh Perry, I’d love to!” Della responded joyfully.

“Come on then,” Perry grinned happily as he took her hand and helped her out of the booth.

W^^^W^^^W

Burger and Alexandra found themselves out dancing after dinner. Even though they had enjoyed ballroom dancing lessons when they were dating, Burger was adamant that they do nothing strenuous given Alexandra’s condition so essentially they’d reduced themselves to slow dancing and swaying in each other’s arms. Her health during this pregnancy stressed the prosecutor to the point that he feared making himself sick just as Alexandra was struggling with her morning sickness. They weren’t young anymore and Burger desperately hoped everything was okay with their coming baby and that the delivery wouldn’t harm his wife.

Still… the pregnancy, while unexpected, did fill Burger with joy as well. After the realization that they’d be starting over had sunk in and he’d accepted it, he’d found the joy and positive in having another baby. The glow that he’d seen in his wife when she’d been expecting their first four children had finally found her now that Burger had embraced the idea of their fifth. Burger was amazed at how young he felt now. He’d expected to feel even older at the prospect of having a new baby in his 40’s, as if the weight of raising a youngster during middle age would press down on him like a lead weight. But it didn’t feel like that at all. It brought back the old excitement he’d felt when he was younger at bringing a new life into the world, to feel their baby’s strong kicks. 

Alexandra grinned in surprise as her husband’s hand moved to caress her middle. It was the first time since he’d returned home and it told her that he’d finally embraced the new son or daughter that would be joining them in late March or early April.

“You’re so beautiful, Alex. And an amazing wife and mother. I don’t know how I came to deserve you,” he whispered softly. “Everything is perfect. I can’t wait. Helen’s wedding. A new baby. It’s incredible.”

“Everything is happening at once, isn’t it?” She laughed. He sounded like the Hamilton she’d loved all these years and she relaxed contentedly in his arms. He was right. Everything was perfect now. She hoped their baby would be born that way as well. Like Hamilton, her age worried her. Hamilton though, had a way of being a rock for her even when he himself was worried and she needed him to be that for her now.

W^^^W^^^W

For eloping, there was only one place and that was Las Vegas, Nevada. Fortunately, Perry Mason’s long time secretary and very soon to be wife had a great deal of practice at scheduling plane tickets at the two minute warning. They had just enough time to run to their respective dwellings to pack a small bag. This was especially important for Della as she wanted to look her best. It disappointed her slightly that there was no time really to shop for or be fitted for the wedding dress that she’d imagined for herself since she was a little girl, but the years had taught her that it was far more important to find the right man than the dream dress. And when it came to Perry Mason, she couldn’t imagine herself with anyone else.

Rifling through her closet, she exhaled in frustration as she realized that most of her favorite evening dresses were black, a totally inappropriate color for her own wedding. Finally, she struck gold in the lavender hued, off the shoulder, tea length dress she’d almost forgotten she had. It wouldn’t have been appropriate for a church wedding, but it was as good as it was going to get for a last minute elopement in sin city.

Tossing some necessities, makeup, and hair styling tools into a small suitcase, she rejoined Mason who had just returned to her apartment from his.

“All set, Ms. Street?” Mason asked, rubbing his hands together excitedly. His face was alight with excitement and anticipation.  
“I think I have everything, Mr. Mason, yes.”

Della smirked at him as he took her suitcase from her and gestured for her to lead the way out of her apartment. To hear her last name spoken by him just hours before their wedding was odd to her ears, but in a pleasant way. It suddenly dawned on her that she would have to make a decision about whether or not to keep her maiden name in a professional sense or if she would take her boss and future husband’s name.

“Paul and Helen are going to meet us there. We need witnesses and I know Paul would be disappointed to miss it. Besides, he’d never miss an opportunity to play a few slots,” Mason said as Della locked up her apartment.

“Is it going on his expense account?” Della joked as they made their way to Mason’s car.

W^^^W^^^W

Helen had only met Della a few times before and they’d never had the opportunity to converse much beyond the standard issue polite greetings that usually occurred when Helen was with her father and they just happened to bump into Mason and his secretary. In this instance though, Helen felt it appropriate to offer to help Della with anything she needed while Mason and Paul did whatever it was that grooms did with their best man right before the wedding. Probably having drinks since it took men less time to ready for a big event than women.

The whole day made Helen’s stomach flutter with anticipation of her own wedding. She had to remind herself that that day was nearly a year out still and there was still much planning to be done. She swallowed hard guiltily, remembering that it was traditionally the father of the bride’s responsibility to pay for his daughter’s wedding and her father was stretched rather thin right now. It wasn’t her business to know her parents’ financial situation, but she could only imagine that even on a lawyer’s pay, a wedding, three kids in college, and a new baby on the way was hurting her father right in the pocketbook. She had considered scaling back her wedding plans or offering to help her father pay for her big day, but she knew he’d never allow her to do that.

Arriving at Della’s room, Helen gently tapped on the door. As a surprise for Della, Helen had gone out earlier that morning and visited a nearby florist in the hopes of having a quick, little bouquet made up in case Della didn’t already have plans for that. Della had mentioned that her dress was a lavender color so Helen figured white roses would be a safe bet.

Della answered the door after a long moment. “Oh Helen, come in, dear! I was just getting ready to do my hair and makeup. I hope my hair cooperates.”

“Sure seems like the bad hair days are the ones when you really need your hair to do what you want it to.” Holding out the little bouquet, Helen shrugged. “I wasn’t sure if you’d made arrangements for flowers yet so I had this made as a surprise for you. I know I’d want flowers on my wedding day, no matter how two minute warning the notice was.”

Taking the flowers, Della smiled with surprise. “They’re beautiful, Helen. That was very thoughtful. And no, I actually hadn’t gotten that far. I’d written a bouquet off as something I didn’t have time to have made up. You’re a lifesaver.”

“Is there anything I can help you with?” Helen asked, hoping she wasn’t taking up any of Della’s precious time.

“If you could help me with my hair while I do my makeup that would be superb. The curlers should be ready to come out. I just need my hair brushed so the curls loosen a little and then arranged in a loose updo.”

Helen nodded and followed Della into the bathroom to start pulling the curlers out of the golden brown hair. “I think I can handle that.”

W^^^W^^^W

The truth was Mason could have easily afforded a much more lavish wedding for Della, but eloping seemed so right for them. It seemed as if work took up most of their lives so a last second wedding over the weekend fit right in line with their busy schedules. Neither one of them had family nearby anyway so eloping had ultimately made the most sense for them.

To his surprise, Mason didn’t feel nervous at all. Perhaps it was because he was used to standing in front of a judge most days with all sorts of people observing. Or perhaps it was because he’d never been surer of a decision in all his life.

With amusement, Mason glanced back at Paul briefly. Paul, who was standing next to him up at the altar, was grinning like an idiot as his own fiancé preceded Della down the aisle. Paul, like Helen was eagerly awaiting his own big day. Helen had chosen a simple, but elegant gold colored dress that set off her coloring to perfection. She hadn’t expected to be walking down the aisle in the wedding, but with Paul standing up with Mason, Della thought it would have felt a little exclusionary to leave her as the only one sitting in the pews.

After what seemed an eternity, it was Della’s turn to make the slow journey down the aisle, a brief walk that would change her life forever. She swallowed hard, scarcely able to believe this moment was real. She could barely hear the music as her heartbeat thundered in her chest and ears. Her eyes met Mason’s and her already joyous smile widened further until it threatened to split her face. His own expression reflected the unbridled joy she felt. Joining hands as she joined him at the altar, Della found she couldn’t look away from Mason’s handsome face. He looked incredible; calm, content, and happy.

Now she understood why so many couples said they couldn’t recall their wedding vows. They were obviously too preoccupied with the whole surreal notion of committing forever to the one they loved. It was the sentiment that was important.

Somehow for Della, it seemed as if the ceremony defied all concept of time. It felt like it was rushing past in a blurr and yet seemingly taking forever to get to the part they’d all been waiting for. Finally, it arrived.

“I now pronounce you husband and wife,” the minister said, glancing at Della first and then Mason. “You may now kiss the bride.”

After fighting their love for each other for so long, Mason and Della had finally tied the knot. And Paul glanced over at Helen, letting out a long sigh of relief.

Finally.


	7. Chapter 7

“Della?” 

Mason’s devoted wife and “Girl Friday” turned toward the deep voice slowly. Her hand cradled her middle and she looked like death warmed over. Realizing it wasn’t her husband that had entered Mason’s office, she schooled her expression as best she could into something warm, welcoming, and resembling life even though she’d rather pass out on the couch.

She looked up into the concerned face of Mason’s courtroom adversary, Hamilton Burger. He had come to discuss a few aspects of the current murder case they were both trying to get to the bottom of, but seeing that Mason was out and Della looked so deathly pale, Burger’s original mission fell by the wayside as concern for her took over. He had his suspicions as to why Della felt under the weather as his own wife had just recently been released from the draining grips of morning sickness.

“Oh, Hamilton. Perry’s out of the office for the moment. I’m so sorry,” she said weakly, mentally chastising herself for appearing so unprofessional. She reached out to steady herself against Mason’s desk. “I’ve felt just awful the last several days. At first I thought it was the flu, but…”

Burger’s heart went out to the longtime secretary. He’d seen Alexandra look like this through five pregnancies, seen her cry from the sheer exhaustion of feeling sick day in and day out for months and losing sleep, and he remembered how helpless he felt knowing he couldn’t go through it for her. But Della wasn’t even certain yet so speculation that she was expecting was exactly that… speculation.

It felt slightly uncomfortable given that Della was another man’s wife, but Burger was afraid she’d collapse in front of him so he gently picked her up and carried her over to the couch, depositing her on it. The lovely brunette was so exhausted that she didn’t protest. Spying a light blanket that Mason kept for late nights, Burger unfolded it and draped it over Della and she smiled up at him weakly. 

“Try to rest,” he insisted. “I promise Mason’s practice will survive without you for a few days.”

She nodded weakly and let her heavy eyelids fall gratefully. It was nice to have permission to take a nap, even if that permission did come form the district attorney.

It was then that Mason pushed the door open and entered his office to find Burger kneeling by the couch and reassuring Della. Mason frowned with concern. He knew that Della had been feeling under the weather, but if Burger had interrupted his mission to care for her, Mason knew she had to be feeling worse than when he’d left the office this morning.

Hearing the door open, Burger stood and turned toward Mason. “Perry. I’m glad you’re here. I was just about to ask Gertie to let you know that Della wasn’t feeling well the next time you checked in. She looked about ready to collapse when I came in.”

“Thank you, Hamilton. The flu perhaps? I hope it isn’t contagious… I can’t afford to get behind with the current case.”

That made Burger grin like the cat that ate the canary. “I don’t think it’s the flu, Perry. And it may not be contagious, but it sure might last a while.”

Clapping Mason on the arm, Burger made his way to the door. “I hope she feels better soon. I’ll pester you about our current case tomorrow. Take care of Della.”

W^^^W^^^W

Hearing the door click behind Burger, Mason perched himself on the edge of the couch and reached over to gently brush Della’s hair back from her face. She’d appeared to have fallen asleep almost as soon as her head hit the small couch pillow and Mason felt it best to let her nap before taking her home. He could carry her, but not all the way out of the building.

Leaning down, he pressed his lips to her forehead and stroked her face with a strong hand for a moment before venturing back to his desk to resume work until his wife awoke. It was difficult to concentrate with his concern for Della’s health. And Burger’s words kept replaying themselves in his mind in a feedback loop that Mason wasn’t sure he’d ever get out of.

Burger, with that amused expression, had implied that the newlyweds might already have a baby on the way. And Burger had a great deal of experience in recognizing the signs of pregnancy in a woman.  
He would have to have his longtime doctor make a house call that evening to have a look at Della.

Somehow though, he already knew that Burger was right. The thought of becoming a father actually intimidated Mason slightly. It dawned on him that he might need Burger’s advice on how to balance work and family and how to support Della through this. And that didn’t even cover the stress and worry Mason himself would experience as Della neared the delivery of their baby. Childbirth was much safer now than in centuries, even just decades past, but there were still risks and they scared him.

Still, the thought of his own child and Burger’s coming little one growing up together filled Mason with amusement and even a little hope. Perhaps they would be close friends in ways that Mason and Burger couldn’t necessarily be because they were on opposite sides in their professions.

But first, Mason’s doctor would have to confirm his suspicions.

W^^^W^^^W

With a shaky hand, Della hung up the phone and took in a deep breath, letting it out slowly. The sudden emotion she felt threatened to overwhelm her and her hazel eyes brimmed with tears as the news began to sink in.

Her first thoughts were of her husband who was dutifully studying case notes in just the next room. She wondered how to tell him? Should she try to arrange a creative way to surprise him or just burst into the next room and blurt it out?

Suddenly the door to her office burst open and Della jumped, jolted out of her thoughts.

“Oh, Perry, you startled me!” Her heart still racing, she wrapped her arms around her love and squeezed as if she never wanted to let him go. She knew there was no way she’d be able to wait to arrange a surprise for him. She was so full of joy that she felt the news would burst out of her.

His arms came around her in response, but his face was a solemn mask of concern. “Della?” He asked curiously.

“I just heard back, Perry. It’s wonderful. We’re really going to have a baby. Late May or early June, he thinks.”

Mason hadn’t doubted it, but the confirmation of their suspicions still took his breath away. Even just months ago, the defense attorney would never have been able to imagine that he and Della would be a married couple and about to be joined by a little person that would be a part of both of them. 

His chin resting on her head, Mason inhaled the soft, floral scent of Della’s perfume. A huge smile threatened to split his handsome face as he imagined what their little boy or girl would be like. It made Mason curious to realize that he did somewhat have a preference. A healthy baby, no matter the gender was naturally his primary wish, but he had to admit he couldn’t help but imagine a little girl that took after her beautiful mother.

He’d have to ask Burger how many shotguns he owned with all those daughters because Mason couldn’t imagine the worry and protectiveness Burger felt when his daughters began attracting boys. Even his oldest, Helen was in her 20’s when Paul appeared on her scene and Burger still looked like he had to restrain his inner Papa Bear.

Tipping Della’s head back, Mason brushed her hair back from her face and stroked her cheek before leaning down to capture her full lips with his in a tender kiss. Words weren’t needed and wouldn’t have been enough to convey the depth of his emotions even if they were.

W^^^W^^^W

A few hours later, Paul Drake was staring at his longtime friend in astonishment. He couldn’t believe his own ears. A baby already and right on the heels of Burger and Alexandra’s announcement.

“Is there something in the water I need to be aware of?” Paul asked. There was a touch of humor in his tone though. “Because at this point, I’m terrified that Helen and I will be next and we’d definitely prefer to wait until after our wedding.”

Mason couldn’t help but tease Paul with a smirk. “I guess you’ll just have to behave yourself, Paul. At least until the wedding night. That’s the only sure way.”

Fixing Mason with a withering look, Paul yanked out the cigarette pack stowing away in his jacket pocket and plucked a smoke from it, lighting it up.

“A little late for that, my friend,” Paul shook his head in self recrimination. “I’m older. I should have been more disciplined for Helen’s sake, but I wasn’t. I’d hate for Burger to find out. He’d probably flip a lid. Or two. I’m still trying to get used to the idea that he’s going to be my father in law.”

Walking passed Paul to put some coffee on, Della smirked and patted Paul on the shoulder. She wanted to get away from the cigarette smoke; even encourage them to quit smoking or at least not smoke around her if possible as she wasn’t sure how it affected the helpless baby she carried. “Imagine how he feels. It’s his daughter and she was pursued by perennial bachelor Paul Drake.”

“Don’t remind me. When I first found out he was her father, he glared daggers at me. I could only imagine how many different ways he was imagining he’d hide my body if Helen got hurt.”  
Paul took the last drag off his cigarette and put it out. “Anyway, congratulations to both of you. It’s always nice to hear good news once in a while. I have to run though. I’m taking Helen out tonight. She and her mother had gone out dress shopping today and I’m sure I’m going to hear all about it over dinner.”

“See ya, Paul.”


	8. Chapter 8

The next several months seemed to simultaneously fly by in a blur and yet somehow drag its feet, particularly for Alexandra and Della. Nine months seemed like an eternity to prepare for a baby, but no matter how complete the baby’s room, no matter the previous experience, they both felt like they couldn’t do enough to be ready for the big day.

On very similar journeys at the moment, Alexandra and Della had bonded and become fast friends to the delight of their husbands. Though the courtroom clashes between the district and defense attorneys raged on, Burger and Mason didn’t let it carry over outside of the professional domain. It was especially comforting to Mason to know that Alexandra was making time for Della. Having never been through pregnancy and childbirth before, Della had sometimes felt lost and nervous and it had been a huge sigh of relief to have another mother to open up to.

“Is it as horrific as I’ve heard?” Della asked nervously in a hushed whisper as they waited for their lunch to be brought to their table. Her hand rested on her swollen belly, caressing it where she felt her little one’s increasingly vigorous kicks. “Labor and delivery I mean? I’ve heard horror stories…”

Alexandra pondered that as she took a sip of her tea. The conversation was rather unladylike for a public setting so she knew why Della had kept her voice hushed. Personally, Burger’s wife, who was a trained and experienced marriage and family therapist, wished society would get over itself and stop treating childbearing as something unnatural and shameful to talk about. But as the wife of the prominent district attorney, Alexandra had to play the game. Despite her experience in counseling others, she felt some confusion about what to tell Mason’s wife and longtime secretary. 

The truth was that it had been nearly two decades since Alexandra had last given birth. She had heard from younger mothers that labor and delivery hadn’t changed much in that time. The knowledge distressed Alexandra more than she could say.

“I don’t want to scare you, Della, but I’ve always believed knowledge is power so if you want me to tell you as much as I can, I’m willing to do that. I suppose the good news is I’ll be going through the more modern version within the next few weeks so I can give you a more recent account before it’s your turn.”

“Like Perry prefers to do with a legal case, I’d rather go in knowing as much information as I possibly can.”  
Alexandra nodded. She could definitely understand that desire. Despite the fact that childbirth was one of the most natural of processes and women had been enduring it since time immemorial, it was also fraught with dangers and potential complications, some fatal. To have little knowledge and control over the process was frightening. It certainly had been for a young Alexandra who was not even 20 years old when she and Burger had welcomed baby Helen.

“I don’t know how much you’ve heard about the “twilight sleep,” but it is true that in most hospital births the woman is drugged in order to help her forget the pain of childbirth. It can be… disorienting. I honestly don’t remember much about the births of my four girls after the point where the drugs were administered. The woman has very little control over the experience. And they’re not going to let our husbands back there with us.”

“But why?”

“Social and gender roles,” Alexandra replied, a touch of irritation and sarcasm at the whole notion coloring her voice. “It’s ‘women’s business,’ unless of course, you’re the doctor. They’ve all been male since practically the dawn of the 20th century when childbirth became a medical process in hospitals rather than the natural one at home like it used to be. And no doubt also to prevent our husbands from seeing what really goes on back there. Like who even knows besides the doctors and nurses? The women don’t remember. The husbands aren’t allowed anywhere near the labor and delivery rooms. Interestingly though, the decisions about our care are left to our husbands who get very little information about what is actually going on with us.”

A full body shudder coursed through Della at that. “It sounds horrifying.”

“The good news is you won’t remember it. And you’ll have a baby at the end of it. Aside from that it’s a very impersonal, very cold and sterile process. Don’t expect much in the bedside manner of the nurses or doctors. You’ll want Perry. You’ll really want Perry to be with you, but there’s no point in asking. All they’ll tell you is that he has to wait in the waiting room where men belong. I know because I heard that several times when I was being prepped to have Helen.”

They both peered down at their food and Alexandra stabbed at her side salad as she recalled what memories she did have of Helen’s birth. She swallowed hard as the remembered fear jolted her heart just as it had almost 25 years ago.

“I remember as they began wheeling me back I turned back to look at Hamilton who wasn’t allowed to come any further with me. I will never forget the look on his face. He looked so stressed and worn. He had about six weeks left before graduating from college so he had the weight of all those coming exams and whatnot right on the heels of this baby. He was trying so hard to appear calm and strong, but I could see the fear in his eyes and how much it killed him to have to be apart from me. Waiting for news is no picnic for them either, even if it is a walk in the park compared to what we go through.”  
They were silent as they dug into their meals. Della was digesting her friend’s words. It disappointed her that even after four births, the drugged nature of the experience left little that Alexandra could definitively tell her. It did highlight how powerless women were in this day and age over a process that they used to have much control of. It seemed like a step back for women in this century, even though perhaps giving birth in a hospital facilitated intervention in the event of complications. As unsettled as Della felt now, the clinking of dishes and conversation in the background suddenly seemed so loud and suffocating.

“Are you scared this time?” Della asked, curious.

Alexandra chuckled ruefully and thought about it. “A little. If only because of my age. I’m a little long in the tooth to be having another baby. I think Hamilton is the one getting more gray hair over it then I am. He’s been smoking more to calm his nerves, poor guy. I wish he’d quit that disgusting habit though, but everyone does it, except you and me I think. I didn’t allow him to smoke in the house after I found out I was pregnant with Helen. He has to go outside because I won’t let him smoke around the kids.”

Della nodded vigorously in agreement. “I’ve been thinking about the same with Perry. All that smoke can’t be good for kids. Everything ends up smelling like it. I don’t smoke, but my clothes always do by the end of the day because most of the people around me do.”

“Oh I know. It drives me nuts too. And speaking of bad habits, I think I’ll be having dessert this time. If I’m going to be eating for two, there will be chocolate involved.”

“Sounds fair to me,” Della quipped with a bright smile.

W^^^W^^^W

Alexandra rarely bothered her husband while he was at work so when his secretary tapped on the door and pushed it open to announce it was his wife on the phone, Hamilton Burger knew it was time. He took the call long enough to reassure his wife he was heading home and then hurried into the neighboring office to let attorney Kyle Cole know to take his place as the prosecutor in the next few days’ court cases.

“I’ll bring him up to speed, Hamilton,” Lieutenant Tragg said, clapping Burger on the shoulder in a fatherly way. “You just get going now and I’ll look in on you later tonight.”

Nodding gratefully, Burger snapped up his hat and rushed out the door.

W^^^W^^^W

They found Burger sitting alone in the waiting area. He couldn’t believe he was the only one waiting on a baby. He felt both relief and great boredom at that situation. Alone, he didn’t have to worry about bothering others with his incessant pacing and smoking, but he lacked the welcome distraction of conversation. It had been a while since the nurse had last updated him and he was impatient to know if his baby would arrive soon. His hat and coat were hung up nearby and a couple of empty packs of cigarettes sat on the table next to him. Having tired of the pacing he had sat down a little while ago and was leaning forward with his elbows resting on his knees and his face buried in his hands. Consumed by his own thoughts, he hadn’t heard his visitors approach.

Suddenly he felt the space around him disturbed as Tragg quietly dropped himself into the chair to Burger’s left. He looked up and found Mason and Paul do the same across from him and Tragg. His eyebrows lifted in surprise and confusion.

“What are you guys doing here? Not that I’m not thrilled to see you. A man could go crazy waiting alone like this.”

Mason tried to appear relaxed, but he wasn’t sure he was doing a good job. With just two months to go before he’d be in Burger’s shoes, it was surreal to see the emotional and physical toll this wait was taking on his courtroom adversary. And Burger had the benefit of knowing that his wife had gone through four uncomplicated deliveries previous. Mason could only imagine the stress he’d feel waiting for his first child to join the world. He swallowed hard, noticing how every time one of the nurses came into sight, Burger’s blue eyes would widen with hope of news only to dim in disappointment as she carried on about her business. Hours upon hours of that, Mason would have to look forward to soon enough.

For Paul it was also an odd feeling to be sitting in a waiting room just to keep another man company, but he also had to admit to being curious about the experience of an expectant father. He and Helen had agreed they both wanted children so Paul anticipated the day would come when he’d have his turn in such a waiting room.

“So how long has it been?” Paul asked, sniping his cigarette pack from his pocket and offering one to everyone.

“Thanks, Paul,” Burger said gratefully as he took one and passed the pack over to Tragg. “About ten hours. Since just before lunch. I’m grateful she erred on the side of caution and called me before I went to court. Her contractions were consistent even if they weren’t yet two minutes apart.”

He let out a deep sigh. “This waiting drives me crazy. Did all four times before. I’d almost rather be at work doing something productive since I can’t be with Alex to comfort her anyway, but I need to be here in case they need me to consent to anything involving her care or the baby’s. I hate not knowing what is going on with Alexandra.”

Looking up, Burger fixed Paul with a teasing look and jerked his thumb toward the labor and delivery unit. “If Helen ever ends up back there because of you, Paul… Tragg is going to have to help me hide your body.”

“Um…,” Paul looked around guiltily. “I’ll let my attorney handle this one. I’m sure he knows a good place I can hide.”

“You better be joking, Paul! That’s my little girl!”

“Better put your own detective to work then because I refuse to say anything that might incriminate me.”

“Unbelievable,” Burger muttered, unsure whether to believe Paul was serious or not. He certainly hoped not. He wasn’t ready to endure the thought of his daughters becoming mothers yet.

Tragg, who had been silent this whole time, finally chuckled. The normally sarcastic homicide detective was unusually solemn. He and Burger had known each other and worked together a long time and they nearly considered each other family. It lifted Tragg’s spirits to see that Burger hadn’t become so downtrodden from the waiting that he couldn’t find it in himself to rib Paul a little bit.

“Have you eaten, Hamilton?” Mason asked.

Burger simply shook his head and Paul rose from his chair. “I’m on it, Perry. I’ll bring back something for everyone.”

Burger looked around the waiting room. “Just wait until it’s your turn, Perry. The waiting. The silence. It gets to you. It really gets to you. I never thought I’d be sitting here for a fifth time. If anything happens to Alex because of her age, I’ll never forgive myself. If only we’d been one of those couples that couldn’t stand to look at each other after all these years,” he joked.

“That you haven’t is admirable, Hamilton. And inspiring,” Mason said sincerely.

“Listen to Mason on that one, Hamilton,” Tragg nodded.

They sat in silence for a few moments when finally one of the nurses approached with a bright smile on her face. He didn’t recognize her so she must have just recently come on shift. Anticipatory relief flooded Burger as he rose slowly from his chair.

“Mr. Burger?” She had seen him waiting there alone earlier so she expected that he was the husband she needed to see.

“That’s right,” Burger said, eager for news. “My wife…”

“Just had a healthy baby boy. They’re both doing well. Your son is in the nursery whenever you’re ready to see him. We’ll let you know when Alexandra is awake enough for you to see her. Congratulations!”  
Relief and joy flooded Burger at once and he felt tears sting his eyes.

“A boy?! I have a son?!”

The nurse simply nodded with an amused smile and excused herself to continue on with her duties, leaving Burger to digest the happy news.

“I can’t believe it… I have a son and Alex is alright.” 

Shakily he dropped himself back into the chair he’d just risen from. He felt all the stress and anxiety just lift from his shoulders. He ran his hand through his strawberry blonde hair and let out a deep breath, but the joyous, elated smile never left his face.

Tragg and Mason took turns offering their friend their congratulations and the obligatory handshakes. Paul had the cigars though so that would have to wait.

Tragg clapped Burger on the shoulder. “Go look at your boy, Hamilton. We’ll wait for Drake to return and then we’ll eat. I suspect your appetite should come back soon now that everything is alright.”

W^^^W^^^W

Paul returned with take out about half and hour later and he immediately noticed the lighter atmosphere in the waiting area. Burger, who had returned from the nursery, and couldn’t stop smiling gave away the first clue.

“I missed it, didn’t I?” Paul groused. He set the food down on one of the coffee tables and yanked out the pack of cigars, passing them around. “I need to go call Helen and tell her then.”

“She has a brother, Paul.” Burger said, proudly.

“Well, the good news is he’s not big enough to beat me up,” Paul remarked with amusement.

As they finished their cigars and sat down to eat, Mason had to admit that with friends gathered around, perhaps the waiting wouldn’t be so bad.

W^^^W^^^W

“Alexandra? Sweetheart?”

The disoriented district attorney’s wife recognized her husband’s voice, but she was still struggling to fight off the effects of the drugs she’d been given during labor. The rational part of her mind that was actually registering the difference between reality and hallucination knew that Burger’s presence meant that their baby had arrived and she’d been moved to recovery. It was still difficult to pull herself all the way out of her drugged state, but knowing their baby was finally here gave her the strength to fight her way all the way back to her husband.

Her eyelids felt like they were weighted down with cinder blocks as she fought to open them. She was exhausted and she felt like she could sleep for a week. 

Burger smiled down at her and stroked her face as her blue eyes blearily focused on him. His own eyes were full of joy and proud affection. A soft cooing emanated from Burger’s arms, drawing her rapt attention to the tiny, fragile bundle. Seeing her husband with a baby in his arms again brought back fond memories of their daughters’ births so many years ago. As a prosecutor he seemed gruff, but as a family man he had always been very gentle, attentive, and affectionate. It was one of the many things that had drawn her to him when they were young. Tears stung her tired eyes as she watched Burger gently rock their newborn.

He noticed the tears and peered at her curiously. “Alex?”

“Just… you holding a baby again. It brought back memories. Fatherhood always did suit you.”

“I suppose it does at that,” he chuckled deeply and then held the baby out to his mother. “Do you feel ready to hold him?”

“Of course,” she nodded weakly, then her brows furrowed in confusion. “Wait… him?”

“After four girls, I couldn’t believe it either, but we have a son. Tragg and Mason were here when I got the wonderful news. I was so overwhelmed to hear that you were alright and we had a healthy baby boy that I didn’t know what to do with myself. Lucky for us, Paul returned with food shortly afterwards so I had a reason to calm down after visiting the nursery.”

Burger gently transferred their newborn son to his wife’s arms. He stroked their son’s cheek as he leaned forward to kiss his wife. For the fifth time, he was awed by Alexandra’s strength. He doubted he would have been his strong and he was eternally grateful and amazed that she had braved the risks to give him a houseful of healthy children.

He swallowed hard as the remembered fear that he could have lost them struck home again. He had no clue what he’d ever done to deserve to be so fortunate.

“Hamilton?” Alexandra asked with concern as she noticed the sudden shift in his emotions.

“I’m sorry, baby. I guess it’s all the stress and fear I’d kept bottled up coming out of me finally. I’m just so relieved that you’re both alright. If I’d have lost you… I don’t know what I would have done.”

Weakly, she reached out to caress his arm. When he hurt, she hurt. “Oh, Hamilton… you shouldn’t have worried yourself sick like that. Not this time. You know I’ve made it through this before.”

“I know. I can’t seem to help it. You mean everything to me. You and our children.”

“I’m glad you had friends there to sit with you this time. I imagine it’s hard to sit there alone.”

“It is, but you know George sat with me while I was waiting for little Helen. He and his family moved to Portland before our others showed up or else I might not have been so alone for the other three.”

“We need to name out little man though,” Alexandra said, smiling down at their little boy again. “He looks quite a bit like you, I have to say. Look at that frown. Or is that the look of concentration?”

Burger chuckled at that. “Whatever babies have to concentrate about. And I sure hope he doesn’t look like me. He’ll have more luck with the ladies later if he looks like you. Poor Helen looks like me. Isn’t that enough for one family?”

Alexandra enjoyed Burger’s occasionally self deprecating humor. It meant that his ego wasn’t running away with him, but sometimes she thought he was too hard on himself in the looks department. And she thought Helen had inherited his best features.

“Paul sure seems to think Helen is beautiful,” she mentioned.

“That he does. I hope he took me seriously when I told him that I’d better not hear of Helen back this way any time soon.”

“Did you really? Hamilton, you are unbelievable. That poor man…,” Alexandra shook her head with amusement at her husband. “You’re going to chase away all the men and we’ll never marry our daughters off.”

Hamilton’s face brightened at that, but Alexandra knew he was just giving her a hard time.

“Or have grandchildren,” she continued pointedly.

“You got me there. I do want to live to see those so I guess I’d better behave. But Paul was acting a little strange last night and he hinted that there might be a possibility our little Helen could be expecting. I don’t want her to have to go through what we did.”  
Alexandra gave him a sympathetic look. Her Hamilton was such a worrier. “She won’t, Hamilton. She’s already a few years older than you were when she was born, she’s begun her own career, and the man she’s marrying is a little older and set up already, unlike we were because we were so young. Try to relax.”

She gazed down at the baby again. “If he frowns any harder we’ll have to name him after you…”

“Ah yes, so he can be called hamburger all through school.”

“We had Warren picked out as a boy’s name the first four times. Do you still like it?”

“I do,” Burger nodded.

“Warren Hamilton?” Alexandra asked hopefully.

“I see there’s no use trying to talk you out of Hamilton so alright. As a middle name. If he decides he wants to use it instead of Warren later that’s on him.”

Alexandra just smiled sweetly.


	9. Chapter 9

Late April brought about a task that Perry Mason wasn’t looking forward to and had put off as long as he possibly could; beginning the search for a new confidential secretary; at least for the foreseeable future.

Their baby was due in the next four to five weeks and motherhood would trump career in Della’s life for some time. Even though Della loved her job and wasn’t certain how well she’d adjust to being a housewife and mother, she and Perry had both agreed that hiring a babysitter just so she could return to work soon wasn’t what they felt was in the best interest of their child. Perhaps when the child entered school would Della reclaiming her career become more of a feasible option for them.

Seated in the chair next to his desk, Della was taking notes as Mason dictated them. She noted with some amusement that her swollen belly made a decent table for her notepad if she leaned against the chairback. She had given up settling on the couch a few months back as it had become a nearly impossible feat to get off of it by herself.

Finishing up her notes, Della set the notepad down on Mason’s desk and let her head fall back with a sigh of relief. She was quite tired and enthusiastically looking forward to calling it a night so she could eat, get off of her feet, and get some sleep. Her hands came up to caress her swollen middle just as Mason looked over and reached over to do the same.

“It seems we have a little kickboxer in there,” Mason smirked, his eyes wide with surprise at how strong their little one’s kicks had gotten.

“Yes, and you should feel them at night when I’m trying to sleep,” Della mumbled through a yawn.

“Come on, let’s get something to eat and get you home.”

W^^^W^^^W

“Question for you, Hamilton?” Drake nodded toward the door to Burger’s office that Lt. Tragg had just closed behind him on his way home for the day. “And you don’t have to answer if you think it’s too personal or whatever.”

“Shoot, Paul.” Burger tossed a cigarette at Paul and then lit up his own. The three of them had just finished discussing some details about a mutual case.

“Why does Tragg get such a kick out of arresting people? He seriously seems to take some sort of sadistic pleasure in it above and beyond the call of duty.”

Burger pondered that for a moment. He knew the answer, but it seemed that ever since Paul began dating Helen, Burger had been divulging more information with the clause “you didn’t hear this from me” and it pricked his conscience a little. Still, Paul was about to become family so it seemed unfair to hold most of these things from him and Burger knew that Paul was a good guy and would keep it to himself.

“This stays between you, me, and the wall. Tragg lost his first wife and his youngest son from that marriage to a murderer back when Tragg was a young cop. He’d busted the creep in a burglary attempt and when the guy got out of prison, he looked Tragg up. One night while Tragg was on duty, the guy broke into their house and murdered his wife and son out of revenge. Tragg’s oldest son had been over at a friend’s house that night otherwise he probably would have been offed too. Tragg has been working homicide ever since.”

Paul’s expression was incredulous as he absorbed that. Tragg had a pretty justifiable backstory for enjoying his job the way he did. Paul could only imagine the zeal with which he’d pursue justice if his family had been stolen from him the way Tragg’s had.

“I can definitely see that then,” Paul said sincerely as he lit up his own cigarette and took the first drag. “I can’t say I blame him. “Well, thanks for the smoke, but I need to get home to Helen. She said she’d actually be home on time today and I promised to take her out.”

W^^^W^^^W

“Helen?” Paul called and frowned in confusion when she didn’t answer. She’d told him that morning that she didn’t have court that afternoon so she’d be able to get home before five. 

“That’s odd,” he muttered to himself as he looked around the kitchen and the living room. “Perhaps she ran a few errands on the way home… If only I’d paid more attention to whether or not her car was here.”

It surprised Paul how inattentive he could be when he wasn’t expecting to have to be noticing the little things.

“Honey?” 

He looked in the bedroom, but didn’t see her.

“Paul?”

He heard his name called weakly from the bathroom and he rushed in, bracing himself for who knew what. What he did find made his heart stop.

Helen was lying on bloodied towels and propped up in the corner of the bathtub and the wall. She was pale and weak and trembling and tear stains tracked down her face. She looked too weak to make it out of the bathroom under her own power which would explain why she hadn’t called him or the hospital. He checked her over quickly and let out a deep breath of relief that she didn’t appear to be losing any more blood. That was something anyway. But the blood wasn’t even the biggest shock.

She was cradling another towel in her arms and as Paul knelt beside her, he followed her gaze to it and his heart lurched in disbelief. Helen had miscarried and their lifeless baby about the size of her palm lay nestled in the folds of the dark blue towel.

There were so many questions charging through Paul’s mind at that moment, but his priority was getting Helen to the hospital as quickly as possible so he raced to the phone in the living room to call for an ambulance. He fought for the calm he normally felt in any other situation necessitating a call for emergency personnel, but it eluded him with his fiancé’s life on the line. His heart thundered in his chest a mile a minute and his mouth felt as if someone had shoved a thousand cotton balls in it.

He swallowed hard and hurried back into the bathroom. His own grief at the loss of their baby would have to wait until Helen was looked over by a doctor and he knew that she’d be alright.

Hearing him return, Helen’s blue eyes fluttered open again and she railed against her fatigue to keep them open. Tears brimmed in them again and spilled on to her cheeks as Paul knelt beside her again, stroking her cheek.

“The ambulance is on its way, honey,” Paul reassured her gently.

“I’m sorry, Paul,” she whispered weakly. “I’m so sorry. I was going to surprise you with the news tonight, but this wasn’t what I had in mind. But maybe it’s better this way.”

“My god, Helen, it’s not better this way. We just lost our baby and I almost lost you. If you’re worried about what it would look like to everyone else just because we aren’t married yet, stop because who cares about what they think.”

Helen just nodded weakly. “You’re right. I’m being foolish. I just wanted everything to be perfect. Our wedding, our family…,” she tipped her head toward their miscarried baby. “But this little one happened straight out of the blue and I kept procrastinating about telling you…”

An urgent knock at the door interrupted them and Paul rushed to get the front door, leading the paramedics back to Helen and then hurriedly got out of their way. Grabbing his keys, he locked the house up behind them as they carted Helen out to the ambulance and then jogged to his own car, hoping to stay as close behind them as he could. He’d call Burger after Helen was situated and he had more information.

W^^^W^^^W

Paul arrived at the hospital not too long after the ambulance did and it occurred to him that he’d be corralled in the waiting area for who knew how long while the doctors examined Helen and had news for him. This wasn’t going to be the nervous waiting room experience he’d been envisioning when the group was keeping Burger company in the waiting area of labor and delivery the month before.

A healthy baby wasn’t waiting for him at the end of this grueling, nerve wracking wait. Practically certain there was no news waiting for him so soon, Paul nonetheless hurried to the nurse’s station to let them know who he was and that he would be nearby making a few phone calls if they needed him for anything soon.

The first thing he had to take care of was informing his answering service that he was dealing with a family emergency and give them the contact information of a few of his guys that could take his place if need be. His good friend, Perry Mason had a bad habit of calling Paul for eleventh hour errands and tonight Paul wasn’t going to be able to oblige him. So this was what it felt like trying to balance work and family. He could feel his hair turning whiter by the second. Paul’s respect for Hamilton Burger just went sky high. And Burger was the tall detective’s next phone call.

He suspected that the prosecutor might still be at work so he tried the district attorney’s office first, but got no answer. Trying their home phone, he got Alexandra who’d had a baby the month before otherwise she might not have been home either.

“We’re at the hospital, Alexandra. Helen just had a miscarriage. The ambulance brought her and it hasn’t been that long so I don’t know any more than that right now.”

Alexandra gasped. “Oh my god, Paul; are you serious?! I-I’m sorry. Of course you are. Is she okay?!”

“When I found her, she had stopped losing blood and she was able to speak to me a little bit. She was holding the baby and obviously nothing could be done for it. Helen is going to be fine though, at least physically. I’m not sure what the emotional damage is going to look like yet.”

“My poor baby. I’m so sorry this happened to you both, Paul,” Alexandra said, blinking back tears. Hamilton isn’t home yet, but we’ll join you as soon as shows up.”

“I appreciate that, Alexandra, but please don’t feel you have to rush because I have no clue when I’m going to get an update.”

“Understood. See you soon.”

W^^^W^^^W

Just short of an hour later, Hamilton Burger and his wife rushed through the doors of the local hospital’s emergency room to find Paul pacing with what was probably the most recent of many cigarettes burned to ashes. The Burgers’ youngest daughter had volunteered to babysit little Warren for the evening so her parents could look in on Helen without having to cart a baby around.

Seeing them hurry toward him, Paul yanked the cigarette from his mouth and shook his head as Alexandra hugged him comfortingly.

“Still no news,” he said dejectedly. He knew they had a million questions and he decided to start volunteering information on the obvious ones. “She said she had planned to tell me about the pregnancy tonight. She did; just not in the way she expected. She also admitted she’d procrastinated about telling me. I’m no doctor, but the baby looked almost the size of her palm so I’d wager she was three or four months gone already.”

Paul took another drag off the cigarette and fell into a nearby chair, letting his head tip back against the wall.

“She seemed so afraid of what people would think. I don’t even know yet if she’d been seeing a doctor. I wish I’d have known sooner. Why didn’t she say anything? What did I miss? I’m a private investigator for crying out loud! How did my fiance’s pregnancy slip by me undetected.”

Alexandra lowered herself into the chair next to Paul. Her heart went out to her future son in law. As a counselor, misplaced blame was something she helped people through quite often and it was just as hard now to see them do that to themselves unnecessarily as it was when she was just starting out in her profession.

“This isn’t your fault, Paul. Please don’t believe it is. Helen is stubborn, just like her father,” Alexandra said, jerking her head in momentary amusement, hoping to lighten the mood if only for a second. It worked as Burger and Paul both chuckled, noting the resemblance between father and daughter. “If she wasn’t ready to tell you then you can be certain she did her level best to mask the symptoms so you wouldn’t notice. She shouldn’t have done that to you. Even if you had known, she may still have miscarried all the same. These things happen sometimes. It isn’t anything anyone did wrong.”

Looking down at his hands, Burger swallowed hard. “If anyone should be feeling guilty, it’s me. A month ago I was cracking jokes about hurting you if Helen ended up in labor and delivery any time soon and now look?”

Alexandra shook her head. “Don’t be superstitious, Hamilton. Life isn’t getting back at you for saying something you didn’t mean.”

“Eh, maybe,” he mumbled, rubbing his eyes. It had been a long day at the office and it appeared it was going to be a long night at the hospital. Burger had seen and been through much in his lifetime, but the worry about his children was what had always taken the constant, hardest toll on him. Save for baby Warren all of Burger’s children were grown adults and yet, Burger still continued to worry about. Perhaps he worried more because they were starting to leave the nest where he and Alexandra could no longer keep a constant vigil over them.

Finally, a nurse appeared and beckoned for them to follow her. She led them back to a small room where Alexandra was resting. She was hooked up to an IV and looked slightly better than when Paul had seen her leave their apartment with the paramedics. Fresh tears stained her cheeks though.

Burger blinked back tears at the sight of his daughter and the thought of the grandchild he’d never know.

“Paul. Mom. Dad. I’m so glad to see you,” Helen said, her eyes welling up with fresh tears as they all took turns hugging her.

“We’re thrilled to see you’re okay, sweetheart,” Burger said. “But why didn’t you tell anyone you were pregnant?”

Inwardly, Alexandra groaned. Her husband, the prosecutor, just didn’t know when to wait on the interrogation.

Helen looked down in shame. “I was scared of what people would say. You’re so well known around this city and I thought it might reflect badly upon you.”

“Sweetheart, I lose to Perry Mason every week. If I can survive that, I can survive what other people think of me.” 

Burger watched his daughter with concern for a moment before he noticed the blue towel that didn’t look like it was standard hospital issue. Helen followed his gaze and shrugged.

“I wouldn’t let them take the baby from me. I’m not ready for them to just get rid of it yet. Not until I know what they do with it and if I can take it and bury it myself.”

Burger looked up at Alexandra. Grief counseling was her area of expertise, not his. He vacated the chair he was sitting in and gestured for Alexandra to take his place. Paul moved to Helen’s other side and took her hand.

“That’s perfectly fine, sweetheart,” Alexandra smiled down at her oldest daughter and brushed the sweat soaked hair back from her face. “You and Paul have to do what’s best for you to get through this. If you want to bury the baby yourselves, you can do that and your father and I will support you.”

As Helen and her parents talked, Paul’s gaze was drawn to the forlorn little bundle lying next to his fiancé and he released her hand so he could gently pick it up. He wasn’t quite certain what he expected to see or even if he was prepared to see it, but he felt compelled to hold whatever was left of the son or daughter he would never see grow up. It was drilled into the heads of men everywhere that real men don’t cry, but how could one not shed tears over the loss of one’s own child, no matter how tiny?

Adjusting the towel so he could see the baby, Paul suddenly couldn’t understand the people that treated miscarriage as something to “just forget about” and “it wasn’t a real baby anyway.” The little form he was trying to see through his tears certainly looked recognizably human. A very tiny, not quite finished human, but one that was already part of him and Helen and had been since day one.

Helen glanced up at him in concern. “Paul? Love?”

Paul shook his head to clear it. “Oh, sorry. I’m fine. It’s all just starting to hit me at once, I think.”

Burger stared at the blue towel, uncertain if he was ready to see his lost grandchild. What would have been his first grandchild. He feared he’d simply break down sobbing. His heart ached for his daughter and future son in law. If it hurt this bad as the grandfather, he could only imagine the depths of their sorrow as the parents.

Catching his gaze, Alexandra wrapped her arms around him and squeezed. The doctor was supposed to be in shortly to give them a report. With any luck, Helen’s wedding could go forth and there was still the possibility that she and Paul could try to have another child in the near future.

W^^^W^^^W

The ride in the car was filled with a dense fog of silence and tension so thick Helen could swear she could cut it with a knife. 

Even a year and a half into their relationship, Helen wasn’t sure if Paul was angry with her. She didn’t think so. It was unlike him to be so quiet, but he seemed more exhausted and frustrated than anything. Normally he was talkative and energetic. Glancing over at him, she noted how drawn he looked, as if the events of the last few days just sucked the life out of him. She imagined she looked and felt pretty much the same. 

He glanced over at her at the same time and their eyes met for a moment before Paul jerked his eyes back to the road. Helen’s blue eyes dropped back down to their precious little passenger now bundled in a fresh clean towel. Paul had allowed the hospital to take the miscarried baby long enough to run some tests. The tests might provide some clues about why Helen has lost the baby and perhaps help lead to improved preventative measures for other women in the future. Paul had also asked for them to determine the gender of the baby in case he and Helen decided to name it. The results though would take at least several days to come back. In the meantime, the baby needed to be laid to rest.

The baby hadn’t been even remotely close to being developed enough to survive with modern medical advances and Paul and Helen were luckier than most in being allowed to deal with the remains in the way they wanted. Oftentimes, the hospitals simply got rid of the lost baby believing that letting the parents see and hold it would be more traumatic. Helen was an attorney though, like her father, and she was used to standing up for herself. Still though, she hadn’t been far enough along to warrant a service or funeral so it was up to the couple to decide how they wanted to handle this particular heartache.

Paul was driving them up to a loved spot up in the mountains. He wanted to find a secluded spot that he’d find easy to locate later in which to bury their lost son or daughter. Family had offered to go with them, but Paul and Helen had both politely declined, wanting quiet solitude with each other instead. They had brought a few flowers from the arrangements that had been sent Helen’s way from friends and family that they’d plan to leave on the spot where they’d be burying their lost baby.

Suddenly, Helen felt Paul’s hand tug on hers and she squeezed it tightly in silent communion. Neither one of them could believe they were having to do this, but words had seemed inadequate to describe their emotions, even to each other.

Helen swallowed guiltily and fresh tears welled up in her eyes. She should have told him about the pregnancy much sooner. Even looking back at it, it felt surreal that she’d held it back from him for so long. Why had she been so afraid to tell her own fiancé? She knew he loved her and he’d never even sounded remotely frustrated with her, much less furious.

The bottom line was she was afraid of harming her father and husband’s reputations. And she was embarrassed that she’d repeated her parents’ mistake. 

“I’m sorry, Paul,” she whispered to the silence. He glanced at her, a look of weary resignation on his face.

“It wasn’t your fault, Helen,” he replied softly. “We don’t know why you lost the baby. At least not yet.”

Helen shook her head sadly. “I meant for not telling you sooner. I know I’ve said it before, but I was afraid for your reputations; yours and dad’s. And… I was embarrassed that I’d repeated the same mistake my parents made. I was the reason why my parents bumped up their wedding plans. I’m sure I’ve disappointed them. And you.”

“Don’t you think you’re being too hard on yourself? And your parents? Having been through it themselves, don’t you think they’d understand? They were young once too, you know.”

“You’re right, Paul. I guess I just thought I was smarter than that; that I wouldn’t repeat history in my family.”

Squeezing Helen’s hand comfortingly, Paul offered her a tired, but self deprecatingly amused smile. “I had a hand in it myself too, you know.”

All too soon they arrived at their destination. Paul rather enjoyed the great outdoors when he found the time to go hiking and fishing, but those times were few and far between, especially when he was working for Perry Mason. He come up this way for years and it had become one of his favorite spots when he wanted away from the big, thriving metropolis that was Los Angeles. 

The spot he had in mind was near a tree that he often rested near. The invigorating sound of the stream rushing by could be heard not too far from there. It wasn’t going to be too far a hike from the car, but Paul had expressed concerns about Helen trying to make the journey in her physical condition. She was still quite fatigued from the miscarriage and traumatic emotional aftermath of it. And then there was the time involved in the physical recovery. 

Opening the car door for her, Paul gently helped her out and pulled her close to him. He was silent a moment, not knowing what to say now that the time had come to leave what was left of their baby behind. Instead he said nothing, opting instead to pull her close and rest his chin in Helen’s sandy blonde hair. For a brief moment, he wondered if their baby would have had the same hair color or if it would have been the dark, almost black color of his in his youth.

“Come on,” he encouraged her gently. “We need to get you home so you can rest. We can always come back whenever you want. Besides, we still have a wedding to plan for that requires your attention to detail.”

That last made Helen laugh through her tears which made Paul feel a little bit better. Still, he knew the hardest part was going to be leaving this place, just the two of them.


	10. Chapter 10

“Helen, are you absolutely positive you still want to do this?” 

Paul Drake took a sip of the tall glass of cranberry juice he was working on before heading off to work for the day. He had a lot of ground to cover for Perry Mason and another client that day, but Helen had insisted on making him breakfast that morning. Cooking was hardly arduous, but still Paul had a feeling she was trying to do too much, too soon out of misplaced guilt. It was as if she’d stepped up her game in their domestic and personal lives to make up for not telling him about the pregnancy; like she had to prove herself to him all over again. It wasn’t necessary in Paul’s eyes and it worried him sick that she’d exhaust herself all over again.

Helen Burger. Workaholic and perfectionist. She was her father’s daughter in so many ways it was eerie.

They’d just heard back from the hospital the day before and nothing could be found wrong with the actual baby. The doctor had concluded that Helen had overworked herself at the office. Coupled with the stress of keeping the pregnancy a secret and procrastinating telling her loved ones, she’d stressed herself into a miscarriage. Helen, of course, took it hard and blamed herself for the loss of their little boy.

Paul intended to ask Alexandra what he could do to help facilitate her healing or at least, to understand better what she was going through. As her fiancé and the father of her lost child, he felt the loss, but he was sure he didn’t experience it the same way she did. He didn’t have to go through the physical ramifications of the miscarriage, which had to be traumatic all on its own. And Helen had expressed feelings of guilt and failure that her body hadn’t successfully carried out what was a natural physical process that women had been undergoing for ages. She hadn’t given her fiancé a healthy child. What if she never could? The self blame scared Paul that any future pregnancies would be jeopardized by her stressing about losing the baby. He had to find a way to comfort and reassure her and her own mother may be the key to that. Visit Alexandra; one more thing on Paul’s laundry list of things to accomplish before he died.

His reverie was interrupted by the delightful smell of pancakes being shoved under his nose at the breakfast table. Helen would have to be careful or Paul would get used to being spoiled like this.

“Yes, I’m sure I want to do this, Paul. For the fiftieth time,” she chuckled with patient amusement and then loaded up her own plate. “When I went on my fishing expedition to find out if someone else had baby shower plans for her, Della said because she works such long hours she really hasn’t made any real close friends here that she’s been able to spend quality time with and I guess her old friends from high school and whatnot live in other states. It will probably be just a few of us, but I still want to try to pull off some semblance of a baby shower for her. She deserves that.”

Nodding, Paul drowned his pancakes in butter and syrup before digging in. “I totally agree with you there, sweetheart. I’m just concerned about you. After what you’ve just been through, isn’t throwing a baby shower going to be painful?”

“Yes, a little bit I suppose, but I still need to participate in life. And Della doesn’t deserve to be forgotten just because our baby didn’t make it. I can cry afterwards. Besides I think I need to see some happiness, you know? Something that gives me a little hope that we’ll have a healthy baby soon.”

Fork still in hand, Paul held up his hands in surrender. “I’m just looking out for you, but if you’re sure then have at it with my blessing.”

“I know. I appreciate it, Paul, but I need to do this. I’ll feel awful if I let this miscarriage stop me from supporting others when their babies come.”

“I understand, but remember it’s okay to look out for you once in a while too.”

Finishing the last few bites, Paul hopped up from the table and gently set the plate in the sink. He had learned to eat quickly given how busy his job kept him. Grabbing his jacket, he tugged it on and swiftly did up the buttons. Leaning over, he gave Helen a quick kiss.

“Have a good day, sweetheart. I’ll see you tonight. Sometime. If Perry allows it.”

W^^^W^^^W

Helen had taken a few weeks off of work to recover from the miscarriage so part of her felt guilty that she’d left the house to run a few errands. They needed groceries and a few other things that Helen wanted to get done so she hoped she didn’t run into anyone from the office. Physically she felt better everyday, but mentally and emotionally she was lagging behind. Still, getting out and about in the fresh air felt good.

Sneaking into Mason’s office while he and Della were at court, Helen put her head together with Gertie to hatch some evil scheme for a small baby shower at a favorite restaurant of Della’s. Helen didn’t know Gertie well beyond accompanying her father into Mason’s office on rare occasions, but Mason’s receptionist worked with Della day in and day out and seemed the most likely female candidate around that would have any ideas about what Della would enjoy.  
With a few phone numbers exchanged and few plots hatched, Helen left Mason’s office feeling more invigorated than she’d had in several weeks. Exiting the building and descending the stairs, she noticed a middle aged man watching her. She’d seen him on her way in, but having never seen him before thought nothing of it. Perhaps he’d just been waiting on someone or had arrived early for an appointment or something and was just having a cigarette.

Their eyes met and Helen’s eyebrow rose in defiant curiosity. Something about him put her on guard even though he hadn’t really said or done anything to her yet besides watch her. She knew all of the guys who worked for Paul and this man wasn’t one of them. And she couldn’t imagine any reason why Paul would have her tailed anyway.

He was a good looking man about her parents’ age and dressed well, as if he belonged in similar company. Blonde hair that was starting to gray and light green eyes. There were few other clues about who this man was though.

The man tipped his hat to her in greeting. “Helen Burger, I do believe?”

The young woman froze, her blood ran cold. She was taught early on to trust her first gut instincts about people and this guy creeped her out. She fervently wished Paul was with her now, but then this man may have simply waited for another time when she was alone. She tried to calm herself. Perhaps the man meant no harm and simply wished to acquire her as a lawyer. Still, it was unnerving to be recognized by such a stranger while she was out and about her business. She wasn’t about to be intimidated by him though and she straightened.

“That’s right. Who are you?” She demanded with as much authority as she could muster.

The man winced in self reproach. “Forgive me, my name is Darren Galloway. I’m an… old friend of your mother’s.”

Then his smile turned slightly predatory and wicked. “In fact…,” he continued as he approached her, his bearing dark and intimidating, but Helen held her ground. “… we go so far back I may even be your biological father.”

W^^^W^^^W

Helen laughed. 

“Mr. Galloway, that is the most ludicrous thing I’ve ever heard! I am the spitting image of Hamilton Burger, right down to the shade of blue in my eyes. No one has ever questioned my paternity.”

Galloway lit up a cigarette and regarded Helen with mocking amusement. “Believe what you want, my dear, but there are things your mother has apparently never told you.”  
Helen’s eyes rolled so hard they threatened to fall out of her head. “Let’s say for an instant that I believe you… why are you just bringing this up now? What possible reason could you have for trying to establish paternity to an adult child? What could you even want with me after all this time except to cause my parents grief? And me?”

So intent on grilling Galloway was Helen that she hadn’t noticed one Perry Mason eavesdropping nearby. He and Della had been escalating up the steps to resume work back in his office, but Mason had noticed Helen’s tense body language and had encouraged Della to go on ahead while he lingered nearby under the pretense of taking a smoke break.

“Because I wasn’t given the opportunity when you were a child. Now that you’re an adult, Hamilton can’t prevent me from seeing you,” Galloway ground out. He really hadn’t wanted to go into the dirty details with Helen just yet, but he should have expected no less than to be grilled with a hundred questions since she was an attorney just like the accursed man who raised her.

“You mean my parents had a restraining order put against you?”

“Wrongly, I might add.”

That amused Helen. “Wrongly? My father is quite thorough. If he took such action and had it granted, I can only conclude he had his ducks in a row.”

It was Galloway’s turn to laugh. “Considering his track record against Perry Mason I can’t say it’s a stretch to think he’d be wrong about one more thing.”

Straightening up like she meant business, Helen glared warningly at Galloway. “I’m only going to say this once; leave me and my family alone or I’ll be the one slapping a restraining order on you. And I happen to know a great many competent attorneys.”

“Hamilton Burger, perhaps?” Galloway laughed sarcastically. He tipped his hat off to her again. “We’ll meet again soon, Helen. Good day.”

Rooted to the spot, Helen glared daggers at the man’s retreating back until she felt someone gently touch her arm.

Jumping slightly, she turned to her left to see who it was. “Mr. Mason, you startled me!”

“My apologies. And you can call me Perry. Fellow attorneys and all. I couldn’t help but notice your discomfort with that gentleman. Want to talk about it?”

Helen’s initial instinct was to not involve others in her problems, but she reminded herself that was how she got in trouble with her miscarriage. Perhaps it was time to learn to ask for help once in a while.

“Actually…,” Helen said with a small, weary smile. “I think this time I would. Can we go to your office and get some coffee?”

“You bet. Let’s go.”

W^^^W^^^W

Mason gestured to the table near the windows and joined Helen with a few cups of coffee as she hung her coat up and sat down. She was the daughter of a colleague so he hoped she felt she could talk to him as a friend rather than feel like she was a client.

“What about Paul? Would you like me to have Della call him and see if he can join us? And get Hamilton on the phone. Tell him Helen and I need to see him at some point this afternoon if possible. Sooner the better.”

Helen nodded as she took the first tentative sip. “I think that would be a good idea. After holding out on them about the pregnancy, I think it would be best if I didn’t wait to tell them about this.”

“I’ll get right on it,” Della smiled warmly and plucked the receiver off the phone on Mason’s desk.

“Paul’s going to start thinking I’m a walking case of Murphy’s Law!” Helen chuckled.

“He’s survived worse,” Mason grinned. He’d heard from a few sources how much like Burger Helen was, both in looks and personality. Even some of the facial expressions and mannerisms were strikingly similar. He wondered if she provided any clues as to what the good district attorney had been like in his youth. With Galloway in the picture, Mason suspected he was about to learn more about young Hamilton Burger than he’d bargained for.

W^^^W^^^W

Paul had been downstairs in his own office when Della rung him up so it hadn’t taken more than a few minutes for his signature knock at the back door to Mason’s office to herald his arrival.

“You rang, Perry?” Paul said, striding into the office. He stopped abruptly when he saw Helen. “I’m almost afraid to ask….”

Paul approached the table, but remained standing, resting his hands comfortingly on Helen’s shoulders. “Sweetheart, whatever it is you could have come to me.”

“She didn’t, Paul,” Mason reassured him. “I found her. She was here on another mission, but she encountered some… possible trouble on the way out.”

That shocked Paul and he looked from Mason to Helen, confusion and apprehension written all over his handsome face. “Trouble? What kind of trouble?”

“You’d better sit down, Paul…,” Mason said as he and Helen told the nearly unbelievable tale to the private detective.

W^^^W^^^W

When they’d finished, Paul extinguished his cigarette in the ash tray and rubbed his face with a rather audible sigh of frustration.

“I’d like to have this guy tailed, but I’m Helen’s fiancé so it could be a conflict of interest, especially since what I might find could piss me off. Hell, I’m already pissed off.”

“Can one of your guys do it and report back to me? I’d like to have some idea of who this man is before he harasses Helen further and by extension you and her parents.”

Paul nodded. “I don’t see any reason why we can’t do that, but Perry, I’m probably going to hear the findings all from you and Helen anyway?”

“It’s your license, Paul so your call.”

Rising from his chair, Paul leaned over to kiss Helen. “I’m so sorry, sweetheart. I know this is the last thing you needed right now. We’ll get it straightened out soon. I promise.”

W^^^W^^^W

A short while later, Della tapped gently on the door and led the district attorney in. Della decided to join them this time in case she was able to provide any support. Given recent events with Helen, Mason and Della weren’t surprised to see worry and fear etched on Burger’s face as Helen was once again the focal point of unpleasantness.

Helen stood to give her father a tight, welcoming hug and then sat down again. Burger shook hands with Mason and took the chair next to Helen.

“I’m almost afraid to ask, but Mason wouldn’t have called me if it wasn’t important so… what the hell is going on?!”

Mason offered Burger some coffee and then folded his hands on the table, leaning forward.

“On my way back from court today, I noticed a man about your age troubling Helen just outside the building so I hung back to eavesdrop. The man claimed to have known Alexandra and implied that he was Helen’s biological father.”

Burger’s head fell back. He let out a weary groan of resignation as he gazed up at the ceiling in disbelief. “Let me guess… Darren Galloway?”

“You know him then?” Mason confirmed.

Burger jerked a cigarette out of his pocket and lit it up with an angry flourish. He’d hoped he and Alexandra had seen the last of Darren Galloway nearly a quarter of a century ago and there were no words to convey the depth of Burger’s disappointment that that man had reappeared in their lives. That he had chosen to harass his daughter nearly lit the match on Burger’s legendary temper. And the timing of it so close on the heels of Helen’s miscarriage also served to amp up Burger’s fury. A cold, hard look that Mason had never seen on Burger before darkened his courtroom adversary’s eyes.

Tapping the ashes of his cigarette into an ash tray, Burger took another drag and stood, walking to the window. He couldn’t sit still now that he knew what was going on. He pondered how much to say in front of his oldest child. There were certain aspects of his and his wife’s younger years that they had wanted to shield their children, particularly their oldest, from. That accursed Darren Galloway was forcing Burger’s hand though. 

Burger exhaled and tried to rein in his temper. He needed to remain calm for Helen’s sake. With indignant resignation he decided to let Helen remain for the entire story. The pain it would almost certainly cause her was not something he wanted for his little girl, but she was a fellow attorney now and a grown woman. She deserved to be treated as such and she and Paul needed the full story about why this Darren Galloway was back in their lives.

“Yes, I know Darren Galloway,” Burger ground out. “More than I’d like to. I’d hoped that he’d have moved on with his life and left my family in peace; and with nearly 25 years gone by with not a peep out of him, I’d almost forgotten about him. I guess my luck really does stink.”

He took a deep breath before continuing. “Alexandra and Galloway were involved their senior year of high school and part of their freshman year of college. I met her through my best friend, George at a party he was throwing shortly after Alex and Galloway had broken up. George had taken the liberty of warning me, just in case Alex didn’t, that he’d seen firsthand Galloway’s jealousy and possessiveness of Alexandra. Galloway absolutely didn’t want the breakup. George wanted me to be aware that I may face Galloway’s wrath if I began dating her.”

Helen sat ramrod straight in her chair, simply staring at her father with concern and apprehension. She had a feeling the tale wasn’t even close to over and was about to get darker. She felt Della’s small hand reach out and squeeze her arm comfortingly.

“Alex did tell me about what happened during her relationship with George after we’d gotten more serious. What she told me was horrifying. She said the first signs of his controlling behavior was his suspicious nature when she attended any of George’s parties. There was nothing more going on between her and George, but even just talking to a guy friend was enough to make Galloway paranoid that she might leave him. She told me that after a while she’d even become scared to go hang out with even her girlfriends because he’d accuse her of spending more time with them than him. He’d slapped her the few times she tried to stand up for herself and she felt too scared of what he’d do to her if she left him that she stayed much longer than she’d wanted to. Finally, she gathered the courage to go to George’s house and he let her stay there. She was afraid to go to her parents because she didn’t want Galloway to find her there and hurt her parents as well. Guess who tracked her down? George ended up having to beat the guy’s ass good and it was a while after that before I had the misfortune of running into the guy.”

Mason sat in silent shock and Della’s hazel eyes were wide with horror and disbelief.

“He used to hit mom?!” Helen breathed. She was near tears and certainly more fearful of this Galloway man than she’d been earlier. It seemed her initial instincts about the dangerous nature of the man had been spot on. To think her mother had endured that monster’s abuse… It was almost impossible to imagine that of her mother who had always been such a pillar of strength and independence to Helen. 

“I’m sorry, sweetheart, but you and Paul need to know about this guy now, I’m afraid. And I have to tell your sisters now as well.”

“Okay, the guy’s a psychopath, but that doesn’t explain why he believes I’m his biological daughter?”

“That’s because I’m not finished yet,” Burger said solemnly. He put out his cigarette and rubbed his face. He’d already felt like he’d been talking for ages, but there was still more they needed to know.

“As I mentioned earlier, she’d been living with George after the breakup with Galloway. Fortunately, they were attending different colleges so she didn’t have to worry about him as much when she was at school. After she and I had become serious, George invited me to move in with them. George and I had decided to take a few summer courses to speed things up a little, but Alex took the summer off. What we didn’t know was that George had been watching us for a few weeks, hoping to learn our schedules and patterns and whatnot. He wanted to catch Alex off guard by arriving at a time when she was expecting one of us home so she’d open the door. He showed up just early enough to accomplish what he wanted, but close enough to our estimated time of arrival home that poor Alex did open the door.”

Mentally putting the pieces of Burger’s story, Mason could only arrive at one conclusion and he could see the same wheels turning in Helen’s head as well as her eyes filled with dread. If he remembered right, he’d heard it mentioned by someone that Helen’s birthday was in April. Burger’s telling of the story placed the most recent event he was describing as during the summer; and if Galloway believed there was a possibility that Helen was his…

“Galloway raped Alexandra,” Mason concluded with disgust.

“I should have known you’d figure it out on your own,” Burger nodded. “I walked in the door just as he finished putting his clothes back on. Alex called for me, nearly hysterical, but…,” and Burger chuckled deeply. “she somehow had the wherewithal to trip him as he bolted for the window, hoping to open it and hop out that way before I had time to stop him. He hit his head pretty good on the windowsill. I was impressed. I hogtied the little fucker and called the cops. Then we filed motions to have a restraining order put on the guy for when he was released from jail. We should have done that sooner, but hindsight is 20/20. We thought since he hadn’t appeared after George first beat the crap out of him that he’d finally gotten the hint and gone away.”

Sitting back down, Burger let his head fall back again and he swallowed hard. “Alex refused to go to the hospital, saying there was little they could do for her and that we’d reported everything and Galloway was in custody and all that. And then she’d asked, begged for me to do something that I would never have seen coming in a million years. I’d never been more confused or uncertain about a course of action in all my life. She’d just been raped and she pleaded with me to have sex with her, rather frequently over the next few days. Her reasoning was that it would reduce the chances of a baby being Galloway’s if she became pregnant.”

Helen buried her face in her hands, wanting nothing more in the world to shield herself from all of this. How could this be happening to her? Hadn’t she been through enough recently? She’d been more or less forced on her parents because of this Galloway menace. And for her mother to ask such a thing of her father… It was unfathomable and completely inappropriate.

“How could she put you in such a position?” Helen hissed angrily. “How could she ask you to do something so… so…,” she struggled to find the words she was looking for. “So inappropriate and presumptuous!”

Burger’s face twisted in confusion and he recoiled in surprise at her sudden, unexpected fury. He knew Helen was now wondering if she’d been wanted and he wanted to reassure her on that score, but he also didn’t want her vilifying her mother for this.

“Helen, I understand this is upsetting to you and that it’s turned your life inside out, but I want to reassure you that I didn’t feel put upon by it at all. The most disconcerting part for me was that it felt like I was taking advantage of her by sleeping with her so soon afterwards. I was afraid I’d hurt her further if she wasn’t really ready so soon. But I completely understood her reasons for wanting that. Of course we didn’t know for sure if she’d get pregnant or not, but all she was asking for was hope that if she did it might not be her rapist’s face looking back up at her. That’s not to say that she wouldn’t have loved you the same had that been the case, but we were in love. Of course she’d rather the child have been mine than his. How could I hold that against her? Please don’t hold that against your mom. I never have.”

“But basically she trapped you! You’d stay if there was the possibility that I was yours. She just wanted to make sure you’d stay if she got pregnant. If there was no ambiguity about the father, you could have left her.”

“Helen,” Burger said with authority as he gently gripped her chin and turned her head to face him. “Look at me. I would have stayed with your mother and raised you as my own, even if you had been Galloway’s. But you’re not Galloway’s and I had no problems doing what your mother asked. I loved her and I was able to bring her some peace with a terrible situation. It may not have been the circumstances we’d imagined, but we got you out of it and that’s something we’ll never regret. So as your mother would say, don’t take on any misplaced guilt.”

Burger could see he and Helen still had much to discuss even though she nodded weakly and dabbed at the tears streaking down her face with the handkerchief she’d plucked from his jacket pocket.

“I take it you’re wishing to put another restraining order on Mr. Galloway,” Mason said, looking up at Burger.

“Quick, fast, and in a hurry, Perry,” Burger nodded. “Before my kids get hurt this time or something worse happens to Alexandra.”


	11. Chapter 11

Before heading home for the day, Hamilton Burger decided to make an appointment with one of the judges as soon as possible the next day to discuss the possibility of the restraining order against Darren Galloway. 

And one that expires on the day Galloway does…, Burger thought sarcastically as pulled into his own driveway somewhat later than he’d originally intended when he’d left for work that day.

His thoughts turned to his wife. Alexandra had suffered unimaginably at the hands of this Galloway lunatic when they were young. To have to tell her now that he’d tracked down their oldest daughter, Helen was hardly a revelation he was looking forward to. That he’d located Helen was bone chilling and the district attorney could only hope that the man wouldn’t isolate Alexandra too.

After the rape, Burger had been stunned by Alexandra’s reaction. Helen had been right that her mother had put Burger in a difficult position that could have been perceived as a self serving trap. Burger knew Alexandra better than that though. She’d been working on a psychology degree when Galloway had assaulted her and even at that young age, Burger had realized that psych majors processed things in ways that other people didn’t. Her friends and fellow psych majors all had this penchant for tearing things apart and analyzing everything. It hadn’t totally surprised him that even while they were trying to come to grips with the rape that Alexandra had already thought of the ramifications well into the future. Still, he hadn’t believed his ears at first. His girlfriend of the last year; the woman he was saving up for an engagement ring for had just been violated in the worst way and still wanted Burger to make love to her shortly afterwards.

The possible baby’s paternity was her main concern, but Burger had suspected there was more to her urgency than that. Later she’d admitted she’d been afraid if they weren’t intimate soon afterwards she’d develop an irrational fear of it. From Burger’s point of view, she’d talk herself into exactly that if she kept focusing on it. He recalled pulling her into a tight hug and reminding her that he wasn’t Galloway and would never do anything like that to her.

He understood her reasons for wishing to continue their lovemaking sessions undeterred by the rape, but for Burger it wasn’t that simple. The fact of the matter was, he hadn’t felt in the mood. The whole thing had been sickening to the point that he couldn’t imagine being physically intimate with her so soon without fear of her having flashbacks or traumatizing her further even though he hadn’t been the guy that hurt her.

And then there had been the matter of how to handle things if she did become pregnant. At the tender age of 21 and not yet graduated from law school, he had now idea how he’d work a baby into their lives. Getting engaged was one thing. Adding another human being to their lives was another altogether. But abandoning the woman he loved wasn’t an option either, especially not after what she’d endured. He would make damned sure they’d see each other through this together and if they could manage that, he knew they could endure anything.

And so he’d loved her as often as she’d wanted over the next several days and when she came to him with news of her pregnancy, he stood strong and reassured her that he wasn’t going to abandon her or the baby that he wished to raise regardless of who had fathered it.

Jerking himself out of his reverie, Burger pulled the key out of the ignition and hopped out of the car. He leaned against it for a moment tiredly before straightening and making his way into his house. The front door was wide open which instantly worried Burger. Alexandra was practically obsessive compulsive about locked doors given what had happened with Galloway.

He kept his movements as quiet as possible, cringing slightly at even the tiniest squeak. He wanted to call out for her, but resisted the urge. If anyone else was in the house, making any noise would alert them. Surely Galloway hadn’t found her already? Perhaps it was nothing though. Perhaps she’d decided to just air out the house. It was certainly warm enough.

Quickly moving through the rooms downstairs, Burger noted bags of groceries that hadn’t been put away and still no sign of his wife so he bounded up the stairs and looked into the master bedroom. His heart thumped hard in his chest and his breathing became shallow and constricted. He wasn’t sure what he was going to find and that scared him, but he was prepared to do whatever was necessary to defend his family.

Bolting through the door to the master bedroom, Burger froze in horror. Harrowing signs of a violent struggle met him. Even the baby’s bassinet had been knocked over, the blankets thrown out onto the floor. Burger could only hope that Warren hadn’t taken the tumble with it. Perfume bottles and other items were knocked over on the dresser as if someone had bumped into it hard. The normally pristinely made bed was a tangle of pillows, sheets, and comforters.

Ducking into the bathroom quickly, Burger saw no sign of anyone. Sprinting for the phone beside the bed, he called the police. With every fiber of his being he hoped Tragg wouldn’t be involved in this at any stage. Alexandra and Warren had to be alive. They just had to be…

W^^^W^^^W

The Burger residence became a flurry of activity in no time at all. Police officers and other necessary personnel scoured the entire house and surrounding areas for clues while Burger was questioned about what he found and recent events. There was no doubt in Burger’s mind that Darren Galloway was behind all of this and he was certain that if the police found the man, it would take the entire precinct to stop the district attorney from wringing the creep’s neck.

As he spoke with one of the officers, he noticed Mason and Della arrive with Tragg. All three wore expressions of grim solemnity. Paul would be over soon with Helen no doubt. On the couch huddled Burger’s other three girls, Kathryn, Charlotte, and Ella, all quiet as church mice and dabbing away tears. Cradled protectively in Kathryn’s arms was their baby brother Warren whom Kathryn had taken for the afternoon so her mother could go have her hair done in peace.

That all of his children were alright made Burger sigh in unimaginable relief, but that was only half the battle. Alexandra was still missing.

After finishing his notes, the officer nodded appreciatively to Burger and hurried off, leaving the prosecutor to explain everything all over again to Tragg, Mason, and Della.

W^^^W^^^W

Alexandra glowered balefully at her captor. She was met with open amusement by her ex boyfriend from long ago. She was convinced there would be no end to the regret she felt at ever having dated the man; and worse, she was nearly convinced her family would never be free of this nightmare. The one thing that gave her hope and calm was knowing that her husband would know exactly what to do once he realized she was missing; and if Galloway was ever caught, Burger would prosecute him to the extent of the law and then some, if possible.

“Oh come now, Alexandra. You didn’t really expect that I’d let that loser of a husband of yours win that easily, did you? With a mere restraining order?”

Galloway lowered himself to the firm mattress that he’d tied Alexandra too. They were well out of town in a long ago abandoned fire station. Galloway had had to kick the back door down to get in, but it had suited his purpose nicely once inside. The place was beyond dusty, but the structure was sturdy and the former occupants had left a number of things behind that would make for an adequate stay until the police searches died down enough that Galloway could steal Alexandra into obscurity in Mexico.

“You do realize that Hamilton will secure a brand new restraining order against your arrogant ass? And that’s *after* you serve more time for this stunt.”

“Oh, I’m not getting caught, not this time. I’ve waited too long to get you back,” he whispered with a chuckle as he reached out and stroked her cheek. “And you just had a baby this year, which means you can have another. Even if Helen isn’t mine, the next one will be.”

Galloway kissed her roughly, one hand firmly gripped Alexandra’s jaw to hold her head still as she struggled against him. Her big blue eyes widened in horror as she felt the hem of her skirt being tugged up around her hips and she thrashed wildly, trying to break free of the ropes that tied her limbs to the dusty bed.

“I’m still going to have the life I always wanted with you. The lift your precious Hamilton and George denied me. They can’t come to your rescue now, Alex. Not this time.”

She glared at him defiantly, fear and rage that she hadn’t felt since last time Galloway forced himself on her welled up in her anew like an angry Tsunami threatening to overcome the last fraying tethers of her self control.

He laughed at her again as he tugged at the zipper of his pants. Alexandra squeezed her eyes shut and tried to shut out the horrible déjà vu of this moment. Tears leaked out from her tightly shut eyelids and tracked back into her long hair fanned out on the pillow. She consoled herself with the reminder that as long as Galloway had her she knew he wasn’t out there terrorizing her husband and children. Somehow, someway she’d find a way to get back to them.

W^^^W^^^W

Paul rushed in through the open front door of Burger’s home when he realized that it was still open house for law enforcement. He stopped one of the officers and they began an intense discussion about something that Burger and Mason couldn’t quite make out from their spot in the living room. Tragg glanced at Burger with concern for a moment before wandering over to find out what was going on. Perhaps Mason’s favorite detective had found something out that might aid in the location of Burger’s wife.

After a brief conversation, Tragg waved Burger and Mason over and Paul recounted the information once more.

“As soon as I was told about this Galloway character, I had one of my guys dig into his background and whatnot just to be on the safe side. It gave me the creeps how he approached Helen. What my guy uncovered gave me even more creeps so I sent the guy to tail him. He wasn’t able to catch up with Galloway before Alexandra was kidnapped, but he had learned the license plate numbers and just happened to see the guy leaving the neighborhood. He only saw Galloway in the car, but continued to follow discreetly.”

Paul showed an address he’d scrawled hastily on a piece of paper when he’d originally taken the call from the guy he’d assigned to watch Galloway. “We think this is where the guy has set up homebase, at least until he feels it’s safe to move again.”

The officer nodded to Tragg. “We’ll head out there now, Lieutenant. With any luck, we won’t be needing you to join us later.”

Burger watched as the officer grabbed his partner and they disappeared to their prowl car, leaving the rest of the investigating personnel in their wake. The prosecutor exhaled with impatience and frustration. He hated feeling like a sitting duck and that was exactly what he was; a sitting duck forced to wait while others searched for his wife. He wasn’t law enforcement. He’d only get in the way if he took to the streets himself. One thing he was certain of… he couldn’t wait to prosecute the hell out of Galloway. That was one case Hamilton Burger wasn’t going to lose.

W^^^W^^^W

It was quiet as Galloway waited for Alexandra to finish up in the tiny bathroom. He listened intently just outside the door for any indications that she might be trying to come up with something she could use as a weapon or means of escape. There was no window in there so she could only exit back into his grasp. He could only make out the normal sounds associated with a bathroom break and what sounded like the muffled sounds of her crying again. He hadn’t missed her proud and defiant efforts to conceal her fear from him earlier. It pained Galloway to see her cry in fear, especially because of his actions, but he had lived without her far too long to release her now.

The headlights of an approaching vehicle shone through the window down the hall and cast flickering shadows about the walls as it turned and stopped in the driveway. With his back to the wall, he slid over to the window and peeked out, hoping to see who had arrived without being seen by them.

Cops…, he noted with disgust, his green eyes narrowing. He pondered his options quickly as the officers approached the front door. He didn’t really want a hostage situation with Alexandra. Those often became shootouts and he didn’t want her risked in that way. He also didn’t particularly want to open fire on the cops either. Adding murder to his crime hadn’t exactly been in the game plan.

“Come on, Alexandra, get out of there!” Galloway had had to kick the door open earlier so there was no way to lock it once in. There wasn’t much time.

Noting the impatience and near panic in Galloway’s voice, Alexandra chose to continue taking her time. Whatever was going on would likely benefit her if it was making her captor so nervous and given his hushed tone, he likely wouldn’t give away his position by firing his gun through the door to intimidate her into coming out.

Hearing no sounds of urgency on her part, Galloway realized he had to make a choice. Shoot the cops and blow town as quickly as possible or abandon the fire station alone and attempt to recapture Alexandra at a later time when things had died down.

“Alex, if you don’t come out of there now, I may have to shoot these cops,” he hissed, hoping she’d comply in order to spare lives.

Reluctantly, Alexandra opened the door. She had no way of knowing if Galloway was telling the truth about there being cops approaching, but she didn’t want to risk others being hurt or killed over her.

Grabbing her arm, he pushed her toward the backdoor. “Keep quiet,” he said, gun in hand. “We’re going out the door and into the trees.” 

Galloway knew that the cops would search the surrounding area, but it was pitch black outside now so he hoped he and Alexandra could make enough distance by the time the cops realized that the people they were hunting for were no longer in the building. He had thought about taking her to the roof, anticipating that one of the cops would round the building to the back and catch them sneaking out, but if the cops chose to investigate the roof then Galloway would be trapped and forced to shoot them.

Quickly he pushed the backdoor open, grateful that it didn’t make much noise.

“HALT!”

Galloway stopped and turned to face the second officer who had apparently gone around the back as he’d anticipated. He was staring down the barrel of the officer’s weapon. Galloway maintained his grip on Alexandra and pulled her tightly against him.

“I don’t want to have to shoot anyone,” Galloway said plainly, pressing the barrel of his own gun against Alexandra’s side. “Especially her.”

A mighty shudder coursed through Alexandra’s body and her heart slammed against her chest, but she remained quiet and motionless. As terrified as she was, she knew that hysterics would only worsen the situation.

“Then drop your weapon and release her. Come along peacefully,” the officer said, never wavering, even though he too was feeling the hair trigger tension of the situation. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw movement behind Galloway’s back as his partner rounded the other side of the building and also trained his weapon on Galloway. The officer didn’t acknowledge the presence of his partner in order to maintain the element of surprise.

“I can’t do that. I’m not letting her go,” Galloway said, making his decision. Swiftly he lifted his gun toward the officer and a shot rang out. Alexandra practically jumped out of her skin in surprise.

But it was Galloway who collapsed to the ground in a heap. The first officer looked to his partner who had beaten the unsuspecting Galloway to the trigger, his expression surprised and grateful.

“Not how I wanted this to end,” he said with regret as they converged over Galloway’s lifeless body. He turned toward Alexandra and touched her arm comfortingly. “Are you alright?”

Still shocked at what had just transpired, Alexandra managed a weak, distracted nod.

“Come on, let’s get you home. Your family has been worried sick.”

Alexandra walked with the officer a few feet before turning back to look at Galloway lying face down in the dirt. The partner was still standing over the body, preparing notes for his report and getting ready to call it in.

“Hamilton will be disappointed he won’t be able to prosecute Galloway,” Alexandra said, her own voice sounding a million miles away. She had meant it as a joke to lighten the mood, but even to her own ears it just didn’t sound funny. The truth was that the district attorney likely would be disappointed by that.

W^^^W^^^W

Alexandra rushed through the front door of her house ahead of the two officers that had rescued her. She found lots of company in the house including Tragg, Mason, Della, and Paul. Burger stared in shocked disbelief at his wife, miraculously alive and beautiful and safe at home.

He had been pacing, but that had been gratefully interrupted by her crushing embrace as she flung herself into his open arms. A long sigh of relief erupted from the district attorney and he planted a gentle kiss on her forehead, still holding her tightly to him.  
“Oh my god, Alex, I thought we’d lost you…”

The couple was joined by their four daughters in a group hug that Paul wasn’t sure he should go be part of yet even though he was due to join the family soon.

The two officers followed her in at a less frantic pace and made their report to Tragg while the reunited family had a few moments together. Soon though, the district attorney would need to hear the report as well.

“Darren is dead, Hamilton,” Alexandra whispered in her husband’s ear.

Burger let out a sigh of relief tinged slightly with regret. While he was relieved to know that Galloway could no longer torture his family, the loss of a life was never something to celebrate. 

He’d ask Alexandra what happened to her later when they had more privacy. He didn’t want their daughters to know until he and Alexandra had discussed what to tell them. Perhaps that was overprotective of the prosecutor, but for now that was what he felt was best.

W^^^W^^^W

Alexandra tossed and turned in fitful sleep until baby Warren’s shrill cries woke her fully from the unpleasant dream. Reaching over, she clicked on the lamp on her bedside table and reached into the bassinet to gently lift the squalling infant into her arms. On the other side of the bed, Burger stirred, but did not wake. Not wishing to jostle him from much needed sleep, Alexandra padded out into the hallway and into the guest bedroom to change and nurse the baby.

As she settled herself into the rocking chair they’d moved to the guest bedroom for just this purpose, Alexandra reflected on how such little time had actually passed since she’d been kidnapped by Darren Galloway and yet, it all felt like she’d be gone for ages. The emotional toll had been great on all of them, even Warren who was far too young to understand the absence of his mother in any capacity other than his schedule had been slightly disrupted and his feedings abruptly started coming from bottles.

Warren suckled hungrily as his mother’s distracted mind flitted about the events of her capture and rescue. Witnessing a death, even her captor’s had been horrifying and tears welled up in her eyes, spilling onto her cheeks. Sorrow overflowed her heart. Sorrow that Galloway had never moved on or overcome the jealousy that had motivated him to hurt her when they were young. Sorrow that it had all ended with his death.

She stroked Warren’s tiny cheek, marveling at how soft and new his skin was. Swallowing hard, she tried to banish her worries that she was pregnant again. Fury rose up in her, mostly at herself, that history was very nearly repeating itself with Galloway having forced himself on her again. But she resolved to not burden her husband with that again. She had been young and scared then, but it had never been Burger’s responsibility to take on the consequences of Galloway’s actions and she’d been out of line when she’d asked him to. If Galloway’s baby grew within her now, they’d cross that bridge when they came to it.

This time the rape she’d kept to herself, not wanting to burden her family with it. If it was revealed she wasn’t expecting there was no reason to cause Burger further anger and grief. And it embarrassed her that she couldn’t stop it from happening a second time. But that omission caused her guilt as well. Burger was her husband and deserved to know the truth; all of it.

Warren’s whimpers drew Alexandra out of her reverie and she gently switched him over to the other side. As she did, she gasped, startled as Burger padded quietly into the room. She hadn’t expected to find him up and about this early in the morning.

“Hamilton?”

“Couldn’t sleep,” came the response to her silent question.

“Hamilton… Galloway did it again. Just before the cops showed up. I didn’t want to say anything before because I knew it would anger and hurt you and the kids. I just didn’t want you guys worrying about me. I’ll be alright.”

Burger sighed, gently brushing back the tangled strands of hair back from Alexandra’s face. “I had suspected as much. Whatever you need from me, Alex. You know that.”

Taking his hand, she squeezed it gently. He was there for her, just as he’d always been. He’d never let her down and was dependable as the sun. This time, that was all she needed to get through this.


	12. Chapter 12

“Looks like dinner is on me this time,” Burger grinned smugly as he entered the waiting room with bags of take out and Paul Drake in tow.

Mason glanced up, smiling wearily. It had been a long night and the end still nowhere in sight. In fact, the defense attorney and expectant father briefly wondered where his courtroom nemesis had even found food at three in the morning.

Burger had to admit it felt odd with their positions reversed. Five times he’d been the nervously pacing expectant father wearing a hole in the waiting room carpet. This time though, it was his longtime courtroom sparring partner, Perry Mason looking as tired and nervous as Burger had never seen him in court.

“Thank you, Hamilton. You’re a life saver. I have to admit I couldn’t bring myself to visit the cafeteria or venture out for food earlier. Right now, not even wild horses could drag me away from here.”

Burger lowered himself into the seat next to Mason and regarded the defense attorney seriously. “You know I know what this feels like. She’ll come out of this just fine, Perry. They both will. It’s the wait that kills you.”

The tempting aromas of food finally overwhelmed a salivating Paul Drake and he dug into the bags of take out, laying the options out on the coffee table between them and gesturing for Mason to go first.

“And don’t refuse. You know you’ve got to eat something sometime. I promise when it’s my turn you can do the same thing to me,” Paul said, passing around napkins and utensils.

Paul and Burger both smiled in relief as Mason’s signature smirk tugged at his lips. “Well, remember you said that, Paul, because I will.”

W^^^W^^^W

Groggily, Della came to. It took all of her effort just to focus on her surroundings and remember where she was.

Oh yes, the hospital… But I don’t remember hardly any of it…

“Della? Sweetheart?” Noticing that Della had roused, Mason reached out to stroke her cheek. Her appearance still shocked him even though he’d been allowed back to her recovery room some time ago. His normally stylish and pristine secretary and now wife looked like she’d been through the ringer a few times. Her face was pale, her eyes bloodshot, and her normally perfectly styled hair was matted about her face in sweat soaked curls.

Della’s head fell to the side toward her husband’s deep, but gentle voice. She hadn’t the energy to hold it upright just yet. Everything was foggy, particularly her memory and she ached and was sore in ways she didn’t think she could ache or be sore.

But her physical condition vanished from her thoughts as she glimpsed the sleeping bundle in Mason’s arms. An exhausted, but joyful smile tugged at her pale lips.

“She’s beautiful, Della. Just like her mother,” he smiled happily.

“I’m dying to hold her, but I don’t think I have the strength. I feel so exhausted and weak still.”

Mason stood and gently transferred their baby girl to Della’s arms and kept one arm under hers just in case. He took Della’s concerns about feeling too weak to hold the baby seriously, but he also wanted mother and daughter to bond. Della shouldn’t have to wait to hold their baby because of the drugs given to her during labor.

“There? Better?” He smiled.

“Yes. Much.”

They sat in blissful silence, admiring their newborn daughter and delighting in the fact that their precious child had finally arrived.

W^^^W^^^W

Diana Rachael.

It had taken Mason and Della a day or two to finally settle on a name for their newborn daughter. The process had been made more difficult by the fact that her parents had very different tastes in names and that her father was being stubborn about insisting on mother and daughter sharing at least the same initials.

They honestly hadn’t discussed names much prior to the baby’s arrival. Della had wanted to see what the baby looked like, hoping to gain some sort of feeling or inspiration about what to name her. Diana had been fairly easy to settle on. It was a strong name that Della imagined would look good on a shingle should daughter choose to follow in the footsteps of her father. And while the proud, happy father felt using Della’s middle name Rose was appropriate, Della wanted something young and fresh sounding. Rachael fit the bill for that and kept Della’s initials as Mason wanted.

Days old now, Diana was brought home by her parents for the first time. Sleeping soundly, she was placed in her bassinet and her tired mother let out a gentle sigh of relief at being back in their own home. A shower was in order as Mason unpacked her bags and she padded into the bathroom, turning on the faucet and testing the water. She glanced in the mirror as she waited for the water to warm up more and peeled off her clothes. The sight of her post baby body made her wince and nearly brought tears to her eyes. She realized she’d been fortunate in that most of the weight gain had been baby weight, angry purple stretch marks tracked over her middle like roads on a map. She had been told that over time the color would fade until they were nearly the color of the surrounding skin, but there was no way to get rid of them all the way.

Della harbored no worries that her beloved husband would find her less attractive. He would never see the birth of their daughter as anything other than a miracle no matter what pregnancy and birth had done to Della’s body. With luck and good eating habits, Della hoped to at least have her figure mostly restored soon. Still, there was no denying that her friend, Alexandra had been right. Pregnancy changed a woman’s body forever and there was no escaping it.  
Testing the running water again, Della found the temperature more to her liking and turned on the shower, stepping into the relaxing spray. The warm water was merficully soothing to her sore body and if her luck held out her baby daughter would sleep peacefully for a while longer so Della could enjoy it.

Della’s thoughts flicked back to her conversations over coffee with Burger’s wife. Alexandra had been a veritable fountain of information regarding motherhood. She felt blessed to have a friend who had so much experience and war stories from the battleground of parenthood. While the new mom was certain she’d face many firsts and uncovered territory with the uniqueness of her own child, there was still a measure of relief in having a friend she could turn to for help with the many questions she had no doubt she’d have.

It was only beginning to soak in like the shower spray raining over her soft skin that motherhood would afford her little time to herself. She made sure to savor every quiet moment in the soothing shower, certain those moments would now be few and far between.

W^^^W^^^W

She emerged from the shower dressed in a clean nightgown and padded back out into the master bedroom to find her man conked out on their bed. Fortunately, he didn’t snore. Peering into Diana’s bassinet, Della smiled at her still soundly sleeping daughter. Certain it wouldn’t last much longer, she gently pulled back the covers and slipped into her side of the bed, curling up against Mason. He stirred and smiled, draping an arm over her waist and falling back asleep with a soft sigh that tickled Della’s neck.

In normal circumstances she might have chuckled or playfully elbowed him, but she didn’t want to wake the baby up or him for that matter. Besides… she could use the sleep as well and was out like a light almost as soon as her head had hit the pillow.

W^^^W^^^W

“Why don’t we just elope,” Helen suggested suddenly as she worked on preparing dinner. She’d gotten her hands on a favorite recipe of her mother’s and had been excited to try it out on an evening when Paul was actually able to return home at a decent hour. His line of work often dictated that he work odd hours and at a moment’s notice he could be called upon to venture out for a little investigating. The sort of activities and people that Paul looked into didn’t exactly operate on a standard 9-5 schedule. It was something they had learned to work around in their relationship.

Paul looked over at him incredulously from the coffee pot where he was brewing up another pot of coffee. The tall private detective was a coffee drinker morning, noon, and night. Helen supposed it kept him going during his odd work hours, but she couldn’t imagine being caffeinated all day long. Coffee had always seemed like a morning thing to her, like something you had with breakfast.  
“I thought you wanted the whole big white wedding?” He asked, completely confused. Usually Helen saw things through to the end once she made up her mind about something, but part of him could understand that with all the commotion of the last few months with the miscarriage and the Galloway incident that Helen might want some peace and quiet. 

Pulling out a cutting board, Helen began chopping vegetables.

“I did, but so much has happened in the last few months and planning a wedding on top of a full time job has just been exhausting. I guess with the miscarriage and Galloway and all that, I just don’t have the energy for another big thing right now. I guess it all just changed my perspective on the big white wedding. As long as we’re together and my family is safe, the rest of it isn’t as big a deal. Besides, I thought for most guys the courthouse is as good as any place to tie the knot.”

Tossing the vegetables in the glass bowl to make a salad, Helen began setting the table and checked on the casserole she had in the oven.

“Wait, Helen,” Paul said, touching her shoulder comfortingly. “I know it’s been a rough few months, especially for you with the miscarriage. Perhaps you should talk to your mom about some things before you make a big decision about the wedding, alright?”

Sighing, Helen shrugged his hand off and set the salad bowl on the table. The miscarriage still felt raw to her and it had left her feeling an assortment of emotions along with a general loss of energy and desire to participate in life beyond what was required of her.

His concern growing, Paul pulled her into a tight embrace at which point the dam burst and a lot of the grief that Helen had kept in finally came pouring out. It hadn’t been that long ago, but Paul couldn’t shake the feeling that if someone couldn’t help her soon it might get worse before it got better. He certainly didn’t want her calling off the wedding over it all.

“Babe, I’m worried about you. I know it hasn’t been long since those things happened, but I don’t want you to hurt anymore or cancel your dream wedding over it. If you need more time, but still want the big wedding, we can postpone it.”

She nodded and lifted her head up, noticing the tear stains on his shirt. “Oh, your shirt…”

“Can be cleaned,” Paul finished, stroking her face. “We need to take care of you.”

“I promise I will go talk to mom tomorrow,” Helen put her hands up in surrender and then pulled the casserole out of the oven. “Can’t right now because dinner is ready.”

Paul grinned, relieved that his future wife’s sense of humor was still in tact. “And so am I. I’m starving.”

W^^^W^^^W

The next morning found Paul up in Mason’s office with what was likely his fourth cup of coffee in his hand. Worried about Helen, he’d tossed and turned all night and the bags under his eyes confirmed it.

“Is everything alright, Paul,” Mason asked with concern as Della sat down in the chair in her usual spot to Mason’s left. Little Diana, who had woken up fussy from a nap, was cradled in her mother’s arms and was eagerly sucking on a bottle. Paul looked over at the baby and grinned.

“Looks like that kid eats like me!” 

“Don’t we know it,” Della smirked.

Paul turned back to Mason and took another long swallow of hot black coffee. “Well, not really. Helen is talking about eloping instead of plowing on with the big wedding. Says she just doesn’t feel up to it after all that’s happened. I don’t know what to think, Perry. On one hand, I can understand, but on the other I would hate to see her give up on the wedding she always wanted just because she feels worn out from recent events. I asked her to spend some time talking to her mother about it before making any final decisions, but we’ll see. The girl is as stubborn as her father.”

“It could just be hormones too, Paul,” Della piped up. “One of the things I learned during my pregnancy and doctor’s appointments is that a woman experiences a big hormonal shift post pregnancy. I don’t think it would be different for a pregnancy that last 12 weeks or 40.”

“Good point, Della. And I’m trying to be patient with it, but honestly this talk of changing wedding plans scares me a little. What if Helen gets in one of these moods and just calls the whole thing off one day? I know she doesn’t want to admit it, but the Galloway thing really spooked her. I’m hoping her mother can help her before she starts making major life decisions as a result.”

“I wish there was something more we could do to help, Paul, but I think for now you did the right thing in having her talk to her mother who is more experienced in helping people through these things. Of course, we’re here for you if need anything.”

“Thanks, Perry. Now, you said you had an assignment for me?”

W^^^W^^^W

Helen made good on her promise to Paul by dropping in on her mother the following day. A part of her felt selfish though. Her mother had endured worse at the hands of Darren Galloway both in the past and recently and it felt just plain self centered to lay all her own issues with that creep at her mother’s feet. Perhaps she’d discuss her miscarriage and other things that weighed on her mind and simply ask her mother to refer her to a colleague for the Galloway thing.

Paul had still seemed excited for their original wedding plans so Helen hoped chatting with her mother about her wedding to Helen’s father would help Helen drum up some renewed enthusiasm for her own nuptials to Paul. Looking back, it seemed odd that Helen had never asked her parents about their wedding before. She’d been a little bit of a tomboy growing up and frilly, girly things like weddings simply hadn’t mattered much before.

Approaching the front door of her parent’s house, Helen reached for the doorknob, but hesitated in opening the door. She was used to having permission to just enter at anytime, but given how her mother was snatched from the sanctuary of her home by Galloway, Helen thought it more considerate to knock.

After a few moments, the door opened to reveal a tired, but cheerful Alexandra.

“Helen! Oh honey, you know you can just come in anytime,” she reminded her oldest child.

“I know, mom,” Helen said, giving her mom a big hug. “I just didn’t want to startle you after… you know…”

“Awww…,” Alexandra stroked her daughter’s cheek in that loving, motherly way she had. “Don’t worry about me. I’m fine. I don’t want my family spooked about such things because of that lunatic. So what brings you over?”

Dropping her purse onto a chair in the living room, Helen lowered herself onto her parents’ comfortable couch. “Just want a little mother/daughter time I suppose. And Paul wanted me to talk to you for a bit. I was mentioning to him last night that I was considering the possibility of eloping rather than this big, white wedding we have going. He thinks I’m making a rash decision because of everything that’s happened.”

“And what do you think?” Alexandra asked with genuine concern and curiosity as she disappeared into the kitchen, though still within earshot. “Keep talking. I’m listening. I just want to get us something to drink.”

“I think I’m just tired, mom. Just physically and emotionally spent after the miscarriage and the Galloway scare. I just can’t imagine tackling planning a wedding right now anymore. I’d rather Paul and I just get married and have it over with, even if that means the courthouse down the street.”

Alexandra returned with some hot chocolate. It was one of Helen’s favorite drinks and had always served to comfort her when she was a child.

“I hear a ‘but’ though,” Alexandra smiled knowingly.

“You always were a mind reader,” Helen grinned, shaking her head. “Can’t hide anything from mom.”

She took a sip of the hot chocolate as she pondered her response.

“But..,” she began, emphasizing the word. “Even though the details of the wedding aren’t as important to a man as they are to a woman… I mean you know how guys don’t dream their whole lives of their wedding day… I know that this wedding is still very important to Paul. He’s admitted before than when he hit his 40’s and his career was still taking up most of his time, he’d almost given up on ever finding the one and settling down. I honestly think he’d be very disappointed with just eloping.”

Another sip.

“And then there’s dad, who had a tough time swallowing the whole idea of his daughters starting to get hitched, but now even he’s sort of looking forward to it. I just feel like I’m going to let my loved ones down if I don’t muster up the energy to plow on with this. I’m just so worn out by everything that’s happened.”

Alexandra nodded, absorbing everything her daughter had said and mulling over some possible options and compromises that might satisfy all involved parties. “So if I’m understanding you correctly, you don’t truly wish to forgo the wedding, but am having difficulty finding the energy to plan one right now?”

“Pretty much. Paul offered postponement as a compromise, but I think either way, I’m ready to just knock it out and have it done,” Helen elaborated. She took a longer sip of her hot chocolate and then stared down into the mug as if willing the answers and decisions she sought to magically manifest in the swirling liquid contents.

“Your guest list isn’t that big and your father is pretty much footing the bill so really what’s left is the footwork; shopping for a dress, selecting the cake and flowers, and the bridesmaids’ dresses and all that jazz. Is there any way your sisters and I could help with those things? Do you see any options there?”

Helen mulled that over for a moment.

“I’m honestly not super picky about all the details, mom. I’d be totally fine if my sisters and my best friend just went to the bridal shop and picked out something in their style as long as it is in the wedding colors. Then they all get to a wear a dress they feel comfortable in and that’s one less thing the herd has to agree on.”

Alexandra smiled, inwardly cheering that she’d latched on to possibilities that were helping inspire her daughter to brainstorm ways to have the wedding without as much stress.

“What about having the wedding here?” Alexandra suggested. “This place is plenty big enough to entertain a small herd like what you and Paul are planning on. Then you can cross off venues as something you have to arrange for.”

Helen let out a long sigh of relief. “I love it. Mom, you’re a genius. Down to a cake and a dress then. I don’t suppose I could see your dress? Do you even still have it?”

Chuckling, Alexandra finished her own hot chocolate and stood with a grin. “I do actually and last I looked in on it, it was still in great shape. Come on, let’s go drag it out of mothballs and have a look.”

Helen followed her mother upstairs and into her parents’ master bedroom. Family portraits sat on the dressers with a few on the walls. Even one photo collage of her parents’ wedding was still hung. Again, Helen noted how odd it seemed to her that she’d never really taken the time to look at the pictures or ask about them. She turned back to her mother who had been rifling through the walk in closet and finally pulled out a decent sized preservation box. The corners were slightly damaged, but even as careful as her mother was with things, wear and tear could hardly be avoided.

“Before I unseal this thing, were you interested in wearing it for the big day or did you just want to see it?”

Helen hesitated a moment. She felt so lazy just asking if she could wear her mother’s dress and there was even no guarantee it would fit and then it might have to be altered. It seemed like so much to ask for. This was her mother’s dress. Not hers.

Alexandra seemed to hone in on her daughter’s thoughts. “Sweetheart, I’d love for you to wear it if you decide that’s what you want.”

“I’d at least like to look at it and try it on and see if that’s something I’d like to do,” Helen admitted.

“That’s my girl,” Alexandra smiled as she opened the box.

W^^^W^^^W

An amused chuckle escaped Alexandra as she gently pulled the decades old dress from the confines of its preservation box and held it up to her shoulders, letting gravity unfold it for her in a billowing cloud of lace.

“You’re right, mom. Whoever preserved it did an amazing job,” Helen nodded, admiring the dress. She reached out to touch the lacey, short flutter sleeves. The entire dress was adorned with lace, but the sleeves really caught Helen’s eye. 

“At least lace is still in,” Alexandra chuckled. “Would you like to try it on?”

“Absolutely.”

Shrugging out of blouse and skirt, Helen stepped into the ivory hued lace gown with a question. “I’m a bit curious though… wouldn’t this have been a rather exorbitant expense given you and dad married during the Great Depression? I’m sorry if that seems like a judgmental question. I’m genuinely curious though. During all this planning, my best friends shared pictures of their parents’ weddings and their mothers’ dresses weren’t even remotely this ornate.”

Fastening her daughter into the dress, Alexandra smoothed a few areas in the skirt and inspected the fit. She returned to her closet to rummage around for a pair of heels that Helen could step into. It appeared that the dress would only need minor alterations, if any, if Helen chose to wear it. She just might need a slightly higher heel than her mother had worn.

“My mother’s best friend, Mary made my dress. The Great Depression affected nearly everyone on some level. Both sets of your grandparents felt the sting though not quite as badly as many other families. Instead of buying my dress from a bridal store, my parents sought to save a little money on it by buying the material and hiring Mary to make it. Ditto for my bridesmaids’ dresses. In this way, we also helped another family that was hurting financially. We continued in similar ways with other things we needed for the wedding. Our wedding cake was also made by a family friend and we had the wedding reception at my parents’ house.”

Helen frowned as she helped her mother smooth out the folds in the skirt. “Were you disappointed?”

“Perhaps a little,” Alexandra admitted quietly. “But more so because I had to settle for less than what my little girl imagination had always conjured up. I’m not resentful or bitter though. In the end the wedding doesn’t make the marriage; the couple does. The most splendid wedding in the world means nothing if the marriage doesn’t last. There have been rough patches, but in the end I couldn’t have asked for a better husband. But… my own wedding was where I got some of the suggestions I gave to you. If anyone knows how to short cut their way to a beautiful wedding, it’s a 1930’s bride.”

“I believe it,” Helen said, wandering over to her mother’s full length mirror. She stopped for a moment before looking, hearing the sound of the front door opening and closing. Alexandra paused as well, noting the telltale sounds of her husband arriving home from work. Keys were tossed onto a small table next to the front door and then his coat and fedora were hung up before Burger bounded up the stairs to look for her.  
“I wonder what he’ll think of this,” Helen whispered quietly.

“We’ll know in a moment,” Alexandra smiled, touching her daughter’s shoulders as they both admired the dress in the mirror. “He may not even recognize it as my dress. You know how men are about those things.”

They were silent for a long moment, simply basking in the warm glow of mother/daughter bonding. “I think it looks wonderful on you. An updated headpiece and accessories should bring it into the modern era. Your choice though.”

The sounds of footsteps jogging up the stairs distracted the two women and Alexandra turned her head to the left just in time to catch Burger enter the master bedroom. Helen was too distracted by her reflection in the mirror, still admiring her mother’s vintage lace gown.

Burger’s breath caught in his throat at the sight of his lovely daughter in her own mother’s wedding gown. It brought back fond memories of their own wedding. He had been about to say something, probably his wife’s name, but he was so entranced by the scene in front of him that the word died on his tongue. And for the first time since Helen had begun seeing Paul Drake, it really hit home with Burger that his daughters were growing up and Helen was going to be starting a whole new life away from him. He was thrilled for her, but the knowledge still squeezed his heart in a mighty fist. It didn’t help that he could probably look forward to this feeling three more times.

“Well, I’ll be damned,” he said finally with a gentle smile. “Your mother’s dress, huh? You look incredible, sweetheart.”

Helen smiled radiantly, finally feeling like she could get back into this whole wedding circus after all. “Thanks, dad.”

“Welcome home, honey,” Alexandra smiled at her husband warmly. “Helen and I were discussing some short cuts for her wedding that would help the planning take less time and energy. My dress was one of our ideas.”

“Looks like a winner to me.”

“Just give us a few moments and we’ll be downstairs to make supper.”

“Don’t rush on my account. We can always go out if you’d rather. You both look tired.”

“I like that idea,” Helen admitted.


	13. Chapter 13

“Did you get my note?”

Paul glanced up in the direction of his fiance’s voice as she wandered into their bedroom. For once, Perry Mason didn’t have any late night errands for him to run and so he’d returned to the apartment he shared with Helen and had flopped onto the bed for some much missed relaxation and reading.

“Yep. How did it go with your mom? Did it help?” Paul asked, hope tingeing his deep voice.

Helen nodded as she stripped out of her clothes, obviously in the mood to tease him. “I think we came up with some compromises that will reduce my stress level and still have this wedding. On time even.”

“Well, that’s a relief. Your mom is pretty good at that “have your cake and eat it too” stuff.”

Helen was reached for the zipper of her skirt, her hands making contact with Paul’s as they moved to do the same. Looking over her shoulder, Helen smirked mischievously, nothing the hungry look in Paul’s bright blue eyes.

“Well, I don’t know, Paul,” she teased. “I am kind of tired…”

With his best “I know better than that” look, Paul tugged the zipper of her skirt down and pushed the offending garment off her full hips. A strong arm encircled her waist and pulled her onto the bed.

Helen giggled, feeling more alive than she’d had in months. 

W^^^W^^^W

The day of the wedding finally dawned. It was southern California so even though autumn had arrived, the temperature was still comfortable and balmy. A soft breeze ruffled through the bride’s hair as she stepped out of her father’s car and stole away into the chapel, hiding behind the garment bag with her dress in it and her mother hot on her heels. Her sisters and best friend had arrived just ahead of her to make certain Paul wasn’t able to catch a glimpse of his lovely bride before the processional.

Hamilton, realizing that his part wouldn’t come until it was time to walk the bride down the aisle, shook his head with amusement at the unbridled enthusiasm of all those women vanishing into the bride’s room in a cloud of excited chatter, giggles, and satin dresses. Passing by a mirror, he straightened the jacket of his tux and adjusted the bow tie. Seeing his reflection, it suddenly dawned on him the reality of what he was about to do and of how quickly the time had flown by. It seemed like only yesterday that he and Alexandra had brought their much wanted firstborn home from the hospital and today he would be giving her away to another man who he would have to trust to take good care of his beloved daughter. With Paul though, Burger couldn’t imagine that would ever be an issue. It was a moment of perfect pain and perfect joy for Hamilton Burger.  
“So do I get to call you dad yet?” Paul Drake joked as he spied his very soon to be father in law and joined him in front of the mirror.

Burger spared him a withering look, but his clear blue eyes held amusement. “Remind me again what my daughter sees in you?” He jabbed with an evil grin.

Holding his arms out wide to indicate how good he looked in a tux, Paul gave his most charming smile.

“Uh huh,” Burger said. “I hope you have a daughter just so one day you can go through what I’m going through!”

“Me too, Hamilton,” Drake said seriously. “Me too.”

W^^^W^^^W

Helen had ultimately decided to follow in her parents’ footsteps and chose to have the small ceremony in the same chapel her parents had married in nearly a quarter century before. She had a large number of bridesmaids compared to the number of guests, but Helen was close with all of her sisters and couldn’t have imagined excluding any of them from her big day.

Finally fastened into her mother’s dress, Helen stepped into dainty heels and admired herself in the full length mirror.

“T minus 10 minutes,” her sister, Kathryn said. “We’re gonna need to line up in a few minutes. Are you nervous?”

Helen nodded as she pulled the veil over her face and took the big bouquet of blue flowers from Kathryn. “A little, sis, but it’s a good nervous. I think it’s mostly just all the people watching.”

A knock on the door startled them out of their chatter and another of Helen’s sisters, Ella answered the door.

“It’s just dad,” she called back to Helen. “We’re all decent, dad. You can come in.”

“Well, I hope so,” Burger said, entering the room. “You only have about five minutes left and Paul has moved to the altar so you can all start coming out and lining up if you want.”

The bridesmaids filed out leaving Helen alone with her parents for a few minutes.

“You look beautiful, sweetheart,” Burger said, pulling his daughter into a hug. It was a moment he wished would never have to end, but she had a husband to be to join at the altar in a few short minutes.

“Thanks, dad. Well… ready whenever you are,” she said excited and nervous all at the same time.

W^^^W^^^W

“And I thought I was nervous at *your* wedding,” Paul joked as he glanced back at Perry Mason, who was smirking in that maddening way he had. The longtime private investigator didn’t need to be a super sleuth to note the appearance of the bridesmaids lining up back down the aisle and he realized that the big moment was heralding. 

At the mention of his own elopement, Mason glanced back toward Della who was cradling their own sleeping infant a few rows back. Della smiled warmly back at him as the processional music began.

“Oh my god…,” Paul inhaled deeply. He paled slightly and his posture was stiff as butterflies danced in his stomach.

“Just breathe, Paul. You’ll be fine,” Mason smirked, knowingly.

“I think I forgot how to breathe, Perry…”

The bridesmaids’ processional continued for a few more moments and then the moment of truth dawned as a joyful and radiant Helen made her way down the aisle on her father’s arm. Seeing her brilliant smile and all the love in her eyes finally relaxed Paul for the first time in probably the last 48 hours; and all the eyes focused on them went away as his entire world had been reduced to his beautiful bride and their future together.


End file.
